BP (BP.) already has few sympathisers south of the Mason-Dixon Line and now state authorities in both Florida and Mississippi have filed lawsuits against BP in US Federal and State courts before the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations in relation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The states join Louisiana and Alabama, in addition to numerous municipal bodies along the Gulf Coast that are seeking damages from BP and – in some cases – from rig owner Transocean, cement contractor Halliburton and minority (25 per cent) leaseholder Anadarko Petroleum.
A number of the regional authorities had been hoping for a negotiated settlement, but BP now seems intent on going the course. Last year, the group had been hoping to draw a line under the disaster when it agreed to pay around $8.5bn to settle lawsuits brought by the bulk of plaintiffs, in addition to $4bn in criminal penalties paid to the US government. But much now depends on whether US District Judge Carl Barbier decides that either BP or any of its contractors had been guilty of 'gross negligence'. A decision in the affirmative would lead to an effective fourfold increase in fines under the US Clean Water Act; a lesser charge of 'negligence' incurs a fine of $1,100 (£724) for every barrel that was spilled, but this increases to $4,500 a barrel under the more grievous charge. As about 4.7m barrels of crude eventually spewed into the Gulf of Mexico, the potential charges are significant.
