Members of the plaintiffs’ steering committee in the sprawling multidistrict litigation over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill won their second major victory in a week on Wednesday, when a New Orleans federal judge ruled that a $20 billion fund established for spill victims must tell claimants it is acting on behalf of BP.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that Kenneth Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility he oversees are not independent of BP and that “the hybrid role of Mr. Feinberg and the GCCF has led to confusion and misunderstanding by claimants, especially those who are unrepresented by their own counsel.”
