Category Archives: BP Oil Spill Disaster
Judge moves settlement forward; new claims process starts June 4
The federal judge overseeing the massive BP oil spill litigation has granted the “preliminary approval” that was required to allow the recently announced settlement to proceed. Judge Barbier’s order provides a June 4, 2012, start date for the new claims … Continue reading
BP settlement submitted to court
The much-anticipated BP settlement terms have been submitted today to the federal court overseeing the BP litigation in New Orleans. This step paves the way for a new claims process, with more open and more generous terms for claimants. As … Continue reading
BP: Quick Pay vs. Final Offer
Many clients have been asking whether their GCCF determination letters are offering “final payment” or merely “quick payment” for their claims. This is an important question right now, because the answer determines whether the claimant can take advantage of the … Continue reading
2012 BP settlement changes options for claimants
Because of recent court approval of preliminary agreements between plaintiffs’ lawyers and BP, former GCCF Administrator Ken Feinberg has been replaced by court-appointed administrators, who will continue to process claims under the old GCCF rules temporarily, but will soon implement … Continue reading
BP settlement: immediate payments on Final offers
While the final, court-approved agreement has not yet been reached, there is plenty of good news coming out of the BP litigation, including immediate payments to those who have GCCF Final Payment offers they have not yet accepted, without requiring a … Continue reading
Halliburton destroyed key oil spill evidence, alleges BP
In the ongoing legal battle between Gulf oil spill companies, BP is accusing Halliburton of purposefully destroying crucial evidence that would reveal problems with the cement slurry Halliburton put into the Deepwater Horizon well. BP asked U.S. District Judge Carl … Continue reading
Coast Guard cites Transocean failures in BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill
A new 288-page report by the U.S. Coast Guard focuses mainly on negligence by Transocean that caused the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The report also describes failures by, among others, the Coast … Continue reading
BP lost laptop with personal claim data
A BP employee lost a laptop containing oil spill claims data for 13,000 Louisiana residents, including names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and social security numbers. The BP laptop was not encrypted, even though industry standards say companies must do this to protect … Continue reading
BP gives Feinberg a $4.8 million raise for 2011
BP is so impressed with Ken Feinberg’s ability to save BP money that the company gave him a raise of an additional $4.8 million for 2011. Although BP granted the raise on Jan. 15, 2011, Feinberg did not tell the … Continue reading
April 20 deadline to preserve right to sue Transocean
Anyone who suffered injury or financial loss from the BP oil spill must file a short form with the federal court in New Orleans if they want to preserve the right to sue one of the major defendants in the case, … Continue reading