Deepwater Settlement Upheld: Appeals court upholds Settlement Agreement between BP and plaintiffs

On Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans upheld U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier’s December 2012 decision approving the Economic and Property Damages Class Action Settlement that was reached between BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) for the BP Deepwater Horizon litigation. In its ruling, the Fifth Circuit also upheld the certification of the economic and property damages class. 

“The Ruling upholding the certification of the class is  a very strong, legally sound opinion from the 5th Circuit Panel that had jurisdiction over the class certification, including BP’s new arguments on causation and class membership,” stated Joe Rice, Motley Rice co-founding member and PSC member. “We now await the ruling from the Interpretation Panel and their review of the limited issues that are properly before them and, through the Ruling, have been remanded to the District Court. The temporary injunction on payments is still in place, but hopefully the Interpretation Panel will act swiftly and in time to save some Gulf Coast-area businesses that continue to hold on by a thread, awaiting the outcome of BP’s continued attacks against its own settlement agreement.”

Read more about the BP Oil Spill Settlements. 

Read more about the ruling: 

Jan. 10, 2014: The Times-Picayune, Multibillion-dollar BP oil spill settlement upheld by U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel

Jan. 10, 2014: Associated Press, Court upholds approval of BP oil spill settlement

Jan. 11, 2014: Bloomberg,  BP Oil-Spill Settlement approval upheld by appeals court