From the Washington Post:
After a blowout at its Macondo exploration well killed 11 workers, set fire to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and triggered a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a contrite BP vowed to “make things right” and set aside $42.5 billion to do so.
But nearly four years later, BP knows just how hard things can get in the Big Easy.
The London-based oil giant is mired in litigation in federal courts in New Orleans. No longer apologetic, BP has stiffened its spine. It has filed new motions and countersuits, taken out a slew of full-page ads in newspapers (including The Washington Post) and enlisted the British ambassador to express concerns to the Obama administration over how aggrieved the company feels.One issue pending before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is how much BP will have to pay the government in Clean Water Act fines, a figure that could range from less than BP’s $3.5 billion estimate to the maximum allowable $18 billion.But the source of much of BP’s ire lies with a legal donnybrook over a settlement designed to compensate individuals and businesses for economic harm caused by the spill. BP alleges that many of the 256,478 claims filed — by a parade of fishermen, hotels, surf shops, law firms, nursing homes, strip clubs and others — are unjustified or even fraudulent.
If BP does not like the outcome in U.S. court, and the TTIP is completed, is there an investment claim in here somewhere?
