2020-02-10 Bloomberg Businessweek

ByJoeNocera

BPExplorationetal.v.

ClaimantID 100354107

Cases#18-31115and

31275

BP Is Still Paying for the

Deepwater Horizon Spill

①THEORIGIN:OnApril20,2010,theDeepwaterHorizonoilwell,operated

byBPPlcintheGulfofMexico,sufferedanenormousexplosion,killing

11 workersandspewing 130 milliongallonsofoil.Knowingit wouldsoonbe

inundatedwithlawsuits,thecompanyquicklysetupa settlementfundand

hiredKenFeinbergtoadministerit.Overthenexttwoyears,Feinbergpaidout

$6.1billionto220,000claimants,thusavoidingthousandsofsuits.Buthealso

turneddownmanyclaimsonthegroundsthattheclaimantshadn’tshownthey

hadbeendamagedbytheaccident.Thisdidn’tmaketheplaintiffs’barhappy.

②THESWITCH:Someoftheheavyweightplaintiffs’lawyerseschewedthe

claimsprocessandpressedonwithlawsuits.InMarch2012,BPsettledwith

themfor$7.8billion.Aspartofthesettlement,it agreedtoreplaceFeinberg

withPatrickJuneau,a lawyerfromLafayette,La.Thesettlementmadeit much

easierforcompaniesandpeopletogetcompensationwithoutanyseriousdoc-

umentation.Suddenlyallkindsofcompanieswerefilingclaims.Oneofthem

wasClaimantID100354107:WalmartInc.

③THECLAIMS:Walmartsaidthatit wasowed$15millionfordamagedoneto

fivestores.BPsaidthatWalmartwasusinganaccountingchangetoinflatethe

claim.Walmartmadeanadditionalclaimfora storeinMississippithatit said

qualifiedasa “startup”(thuseligibleformoremoney)becauseit hadrecently

reopenedafterbeingdamagedduringHurricaneKatrina.Juneauapproved

bothclaims.SoBPsued.

④ THE FINALE: Federal Judge Carl Barbier, who’s overseeing the BP litigation,

is a former plaintiffs’ lawyer. He’s been largely unsympathetic to BP’s objec-

tions. After all, BP did agree to the 2012 settlement that opened the door for

more questionable claims. Sure enough, he ruled for Walmart in both cases.

And in two separatedecisionslastmonth,theU.S.CourtofAppealsfor the

5th Circuit agreed withhim.A decadeaftertheDeepwaterHorizonexplosion,

BP is still paying up.<BW>�Nocera is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion

● Hasthe5thCircuit

rejectedanyclaims?

Yes.TampaBay’s

footballteam,the

Buccaneers,tried

toget$19.5million,

claiming economic

damage, despite being

300 miles from the

accident site. In its

ruling, the court noted

the team went 10-6

that season. “The

Bucs have not had a

10-win season since,”

the ruling said.

● Howmuchhas

thespillcostBP?

Inadditiontothe

moneyit’spaidtoGulf

Coastresidentsand

businesses,it has

paid $20 billion to

settle suits brought

by states and the

federal government; a

$4 billion fine levied by

the U.S. Department of

Justice; and $32 billion

toward the cleanup.

That comes to about

$70 billion—so far.

68

ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE WYLESOL

◼ LAST THING

With Bloomberg Opinion

Bloomberg

Businessweek

(USPS

080

900)

February

10,

2020

(ISSN

0007-7135)

H

Issue

no.

4645

Published

weekly,

except

one

week

in

January,

February,

March,

May,

July,

August,

September,

October,

November

and

December

by

Bloomberg

L.P.

Periodicals

postage

paid

at

New

York,

N.Y.,

and

at

additional

mailing

offices.

Executive,

Editorial,

Circulation,

and

Advertising

Offices:

Bloomberg

Businessweek,

731

Lexington

Avenue,

New

York,

NY

10022.

POSTMASTER:

Send

address

changes

to

Bloomberg

Businessweek,

P.O.

Box

37528,

Boone,

IA

50037-0528.

Canada

Post

Publication

Mail

Agreement

Number

41989020.

Return

undeliverable

Canadian

addresses

to

DHL

Global

Mail,

355

Admiral

Blvd.,

Unit

4,

Mississauga, ON L5T 2N1. Email: [email protected]. QST#1008327064. Registered for GST as Bloomberg L.P. GST #12829 9898 RT0001. Copyright 2020 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Title registered in the U.S. Patent Office. Single Copy Sales: Call 800 298-9867 or email: [email protected]. Educational Permissions: Copyright Clearance Center at [email protected]. Printed in the U.S.A. CPPAP NUMBER 0414N68830