It is hard to believe that two-and-a-half years have elapsed since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred of the coast of the southeastern United States. Yet the effects are still being felt, and the dispute about what damages BP should be required to pay as result of the spill rages on.
Last month, attorneys for businesses that suffered damages as a result of the spill and the BP settlement claims administrator made a joint request to United States District Court Judge Carl Barbier to expand covered losses to additional businesses and claims. These businesses include those that sustained losses as a result of the temporary, six-month suspension by the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, of deep water drilling activities.
The moratorium on deep water drilling activities was initially issued in May 2010, and was nullified by a restraining order issued by Judge Martin Leach-Cross Feldman. The restraining order resulted from a lawsuit filed against Ken Salazar and the United States Department of Interior, among others, by Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC, alleging that the moratorium was arbitrary and capricious and in violation of federal law. In June 2010, Judge Feldman issue a restraining order, finding that Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC, would likely ultimately succeed in establishing that the moratorium was arbitrary and capricious. Several days after issuance of the restraining order, the United States Department of Interior appealed Judge Feldman’s ruling, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay enforcement of the restraining order. As a result, in July 2010, the United States Department of Interior revised the previously-issued moratorium, which allowed certain drilling under certain conditions. The United States Department of Interior lifted the revised moratorium in October 2010.
On September 10, 2013, BP filed documents with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, located in New Orleans, contending that the BP economic damages settlement, also referred to as the BP Spill Accord, was not intended to extend to moratorium-related losses.
Moratorium damages claims include those damages asserted by businesses in the offshore oil and gas industry, banks and financial institutions, and investment companies. BP has consistently opposed paying such claims. BP has asserted that the moratorium damages sustained were the result of the United States Department of Interior’s actions, not the actions of BP. Furthermore, BP has argued that under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which is the key act governing BP’s liability for damages resulting from the spill, BP is not responsible for these types of damages.
The request for the extension of damages to a new class of businesses comes amidst recent allegations of wrongdoing and conflicts of interest against the claims administrator, Patrick Juneau, and several other attorneys in the handling of the BP settlement. Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and former federal judge, Louis Freeh, was appointed by Judge Barbier to conduct an independent investigation into the alleged wrongdoing. Judge Freeh concluded that Juneau had engaged in no wrongdoing, but did determine that several of Juneau’s staff engaged in conduct that appeared to be improper, unethical and possibly criminal. On September 6, 2013, Judge Freeh recommended that the United States Department of Justice engage in further investigation, but he also recommended that the payment of claims from the BP Spill Accord continue. Judge Freeh will also continue his investigation.
The estimated costs associated with the Deepwater Horizon spill have risen to at least $9.6 billion, and will likely continue to increase as the matter continues proceeding through the court system.
Although the claims period for filing a claim for damages resulting from the BP spill have passed for many groups of businesses and individuals, if you sustained damages as a result of the spill and have any questions about your rights, Barrett Law, PLLC can be reached at (601) 790-1505 to discuss your options.
