Appeals Court Gives BP a Win in Settlement Dispute
Source: Associated Press
Appeals Court Gives BP a Win in Settlement Dispute
NEW ORLEANS October 3, 2013 (AP)
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and KEVIN McGILL Associated Press
A federal appeals court has given new life to oil giant BP PLC's claims that a judge's interpretation of a settlement after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could force the company to pay billions of dollars for bogus or inflated claims by businesses.
The complex ruling Wednesday by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's (BAHR'-bee-aye's) rulings on the dispute between BP and attorneys who brokered the multibillion-dollar settlement in 2012. The panel sent the case back to Barbier for further proceedings.
BP argued that Barbier and court-appointed claims administrator Patrick Juneau misinterpreted terms of the settlement.
Plaintiffs' lawyers countered that BP undervalued the settlement and underestimated how many claimants would qualify for payments.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/appeals-court-bp-win-settlement-dispute-20451467
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