BP’s ‘gross negligence’

BP’s ‘gross negligence’ caused Gulf oil spill, federal judge rules

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A federal judge in New Orleans on Thursday ruled that BP’s “gross negligence” and “willful misconduct” had caused the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and that the company’s “reckless” behavior made it subject to fines of as much as $4,300 a barrel under the Clean Water Act.
The ruling by District Court Judge Carl Barbier means that the government can impose penalties nearly four times as large as it could if BP were not found guilty of gross negligence.

The ruling could open up the company to fines as much as $17 billion. BP has set aside $3.5 billion for potential Clean Water Act fines and has noted that in previous oil spill cases, the government and the courts have imposed penalties far lower than the maximum. Nonetheless, the price of BP shares tumbled nearly 6 percent on the news.

BP issued a statement Thursday saying that it “strongly disagrees with the decision issued today.”
“The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case,” the company said. “BP believes that an impartial view of the record does not support the erroneous conclusion reached by the District Court.”