BP Takes A New, More Litigious, Stance In Oil Spill Cases

Reacting to what it believes to be over-reach and in some cases outright fraud in the implementation of a settlement over the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill, BP has signaled it is prepared to fight back. BP has already paid out more than $26 billion for cleanup and various damage claims. The company’s shift in approach comes after the estimated cost of the 2012 settlement ballooned from $7.8 billion to an amount approaching $9 billion. All this occurs as a civil trial proceeds in New Orleans, with the government seeking billions more from the firm under environmental statutes.