BP has won a significant step in its ongoing court battle against overpaying compensation from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill.
A US court last night approved a bid by the British supermajor to halt compensation claims to those whose losses were not traceable to the Macondo disaster.
The news comes as jury selection got underway for the criminal trial of the first BP employee over the incident.
The selection process for a jury to hear the case against former BP engineer Kurt Mix, who is accused of obstructing the investigation into the company’s response to the disaster, is set to continue today.
Last night US District Judge Stanwood Duval Jnr dismissed some possible members of the jury, with the remainder due to return today for selection.
Opening statements in the trial, which is expected to last around three weeks, could begin tonight.
Mix, one of the experts who worked on sealing the well, is accused of deleting texts to and from his superior, along with messages from a contractor.
Each charge carries a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 20 years in prison.
Meanwhile the US court of appeal supported a claim by BP that the payout formula for compensation agreed by administrator Patrick Juneau was too generous.
The company, which has been forced to revise its estimate of the settlements cost up to £5.9billion, said the claims criteria was too generous, and opened it up to claims from businesses and individuals that were not impacted by the Macondo disaster.
“This court’s expressing its views through two different opinions may have created interpretive difficulties on the remand, but the district court erred by not considering the arguments on causation,” according to the ruling.
The court halted further payouts to claimants who did not suffer any property damage or economic impact, pending a final decision on appeals.
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