BP’s call for the ouster of the administrator of damage settlement claims arising from the 2010 Gulf oil spill was rejected today by a federal judge.
BP lawyers had said Patrick Juneau should be removed for a variety of reasons, among them that he had a conflict of interest because he once represented Louisiana in talks setting up the claims process and had pushed for favorable terms for those with claims. They also said he had made misleading statements about that work before being named claims administrator. And they said Juneau improperly expedited claims for some people represented by the plaintiffs’ steering committee.
But U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier says in today’s ruling that BP clearly knew of Juneau’s previous consulting work for the state.
“Mr. Juneau himself disclosed this information to BP and at least six of its attorneys or representatives before he was selected by the parties,” the judge writes.
Barbier also says BP used an out-of-context statement to back up its claims that Juneau had given false or misleading statements regarding his work. He says there was no evidence that some plaintiffs’ steering committee clients had their claims improperly expedited. The Associated Press has the full story.
