By Jonathan Stempel Reuters) A prominent Texas lawyer was acquitted on Thursday of charges he made up thousands of fake clients to sue BP Plc for damages that the oil company caused in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, court records show. Mikal Watts was among five defendants found not guilty by a Mississippi federal jury of charges related to an alleged scheme to defraud a … [Read more...]
BP Loses Bid for New Trial Over Its Gulf Spill Negligence
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Brubaker Calkins Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc lost a bid for a new trial on findings that it was grossly negligent in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a decision that exposes the company to $18 billion in pollution fines. The loss follows multiple BP legal setbacks, including failed efforts to cut the cost of its settlement with spill … [Read more...]
Anadarko Must Face Lawsuit Over Macondo Disaster, May Have Misled Investors
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp., a partner in the BP Plc well that blew up in 2010 and triggered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill, must face a lawsuit claiming it misled investors, a judge said. U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston dismissed most of the investors’ allegations yesterday while finding they had sufficient reason to sue over a … [Read more...]
Deepwater Horizon Fire Too Big to Fight, Chief Mate Testifies
By Kathy Finn NEW ORLEANS, March 25 (Reuters) - The officer in charge of safety on Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, destroyed in a BP well accident that caused the worst-ever U.S. offshore oil spill, said the post-blowout fire was too big to fight and the evacuation saved lives. In the fifth week of a trial to apportion blame among BP Plc , Transocean Ltd and … [Read more...]
Transocean CEO: Deepwater Horizon Crew “Should Have Done More”
By Allen Johnson Jr. and Margaret Cronin Fisk (Bloomberg) -- Transocean Ltd. crew on the Deepwater Horizon “should have done more” to prevent the rig’s explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Chief Executive Officer Steven Newman said at the trial over fault for the disaster. Transocean’s failures led Newman to recommend the company pay $1.4 … [Read more...]
Gulf Oil Spill Trial Begins With Billions of Dollars at Stake
By Jef Feeley and Allen Johnson Jr. (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. are seeking to avoid billions of dollars in damages by proving in court that mistakes leading to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spilldidn’t amount to gross negligence. Opening statements began this morning in New Orleans before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who will weigh … [Read more...]