BP fails to claw back Gulf spill payouts

BP HAS failed in a bid to recoup hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation wrongly handed to victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, writes Rob Davies.

The ruling by a US court is yet another setback for BP, which is trying to keep a lid on the costs of the accident.

Judge Carl Barbier, overseeing legal proceedings against the oil giant, rejected its view that it should be able to claw back compensation payouts.

The British firm’s case rested on a decision that the process used to determine how much spill victims should receive was flawed, resulting in ‘excessive payments’.

But Judge Barbier said that BP must stick by the terms of a legal agreement signed by claimants as part of a group settlement.

The ‘release’ warned claimants it was ‘possible that the terms of the proposed settlement may change in the future – for better or for worse – as a result of further legal proceedings’.

It added: ‘However, if you sign this Individual Release, none of those uncertain future events will affect you.’

BP disagreed with the decision and said that it would appeal against it.

It said: ‘No one disputes that the claimants whose windfalls the court has now upheld have been paid money they didn’t deserve for losses they didn’t suffer.’

BP (down 13.15p to 451.8p) expects the cost of settlements with spill victims to rise beyond £5.6bn. It is appealing to the Supreme Court against a separate ruling about which businesses are entitled to compensation.