On January 15, 2015, Judge Carl Barbier of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law related to Phase Two of the trial in the Multi-District Litigation related to BP’s April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (MDL 2179). Phase Two considered BP and other defendants’ efforts to limit the oil discharged and determined the volume of oil that ultimately escaped from the Macondo Well into the Gulf of Mexico. The Court found that BP was not grossly negligent, reckless, willful, or wanton in its source control planning and preparation and that its source control efforts were reasonable and consistent with industry practice at that time. The Court further determined that, for purposes of calculating the maximum possible civil penalty under the Clean Water Act (CWA), 3.19 million barrels of oil discharged into the Gulf of Mexico, subjecting BP to a maximum penalty of $13.7 billion. Kanner & Whiteley served as trial counsel for the State of Louisiana in the Phase One and Two proceedings and is currently attending the trial on the federal government’s claim for penalties under the CWA, which began on January 20, 2015.
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Phone: (504) 524-5777 | Fax: (504) 524-5763
Phone: (504) 524-5777 | Fax: (504) 524-5763