Plaintiffs in BP oil spill suits can seek punitive damages
Last week a federal judge in New Orleans ruled that businesses and individuals suing BP, Transocean Ltd., Halliburton Co. and other companies tied to last years Gulf oil spill can seek punitive damages for economic and environmental losses they endured because of the spill.
August 29, 2011 at 06:22 AM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Last week a federal judge in New Orleans ruled that businesses and individuals suing BP, Transocean Ltd., Halliburton Co. and other companies tied to last year's Gulf oil spill can seek punitive damages for economic and environmental losses they endured because of the spill.
According to Bloomberg, BP and other companies involved in the spill claimed the U.S. Oil Pollution Act prevented plaintiffs from pursuing punitive damages, but U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said plaintiffs could pursue such damages under maritime law. Barbier said companies can move forward with claims if they lost revenue because of the government moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf following the spill.
More than 100,000 claims will be affected by the ruling.
Last week a federal judge in New Orleans ruled that businesses and individuals suing BP, Transocean Ltd., Halliburton Co. and other companies tied to last year's Gulf oil spill can seek punitive damages for economic and environmental losses they endured because of the spill.
According to Bloomberg, BP and other companies involved in the spill claimed the U.S. Oil Pollution Act prevented plaintiffs from pursuing punitive damages, but U.S. District Judge
More than 100,000 claims will be affected by the ruling.
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