Americas News
BP Accused of Gross Negligence and Wilful Misconduct
Papers filed on August 31, 2012 at the U.S. federal court in New Orleans show the U.S. Justice Department has accused BP Plc (BP) of "gross negligence and wilful misconduct" for its part in the April 20, 2010 explosion on the offshore drilling rig it was leasing, Deepwater Horizon, and the subsequent oil spill.
BP denies the allegations, and responded in a statement Tuesday saying it "looks forward to presenting evidence on this issue."
Transocean, the Swiss-based company that owned the drilling rig, declined to comment, the Reuters news agency said.
The case is due to go to trial in New Orleans in January 2013, although talks are reportedly taking place between BP and the US government and a settlement could be reached before then.
If BP is shown to have committed gross negligence, damages under the country's Clean Water Act could nearly quadruple to $21 billion.
"The government needs to pull out outrageous examples of BP's conduct if it wants to show the company was not just negligent but grossly so," said Martha Judy, a law professor at Vermont Law School who specialises in environmental liability.
"The point they're trying to persuade the judge of is that this is so beyond unreasonable, it is ridiculous and perhaps even reckless or intentional," she added.
Following the Deepwater incident, around 20 trading staff left the British oil and gas giant and joined Hong-Kong listed rival Brightoil.
