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Judge rules BP can't reduce previous settlements in gulf oil spill

 
Published Sept. 24, 2014

NEW ORLEANS — BP wants its money back — hundreds of millions of dollars of it — but a federal judge said Wednesday the oil giant must keep its promises to the companies it compensated for losses they blamed on the 2010 gulf oil spill.

BP argued a flawed funding formula enabled many businesses to overestimate spill-related claims and some "weren't warranted at all."

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier agreed several weeks ago to change the compensation formula for any future payments, but he ruled Wednesday that a deal is a deal when it comes to money BP has already paid out.

Under that deal, claimants agreed to drop their lawsuits and BP agreed no future court action could change their payments.

The ruling thwarts BP's latest attempt to control its soaring liability from the spill, which might be nearing $50 billion.

BP is still facing a financial nightmare from the nation's worst oil disaster, which began with an explosion that tore open the oil company's Macondo well on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, destroying the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and killing 11 workers.

The Macondo explosion fouled fruitful seafood grounds, sensitive coastal marshes and tourist-friendly beaches.

The claims settlement reached with a committee of attorneys for various plaintiffs in 2012 had no cap, and its cost continues to rise.