After five years, nearly 400,000 claims and more than $9 billion in payment offers, BP’s massive settlement program may be coming to a close within the next five months. “We will have decided all of our determinations by the end of this year,” Pat Juneau, the court-appointed administrator, recently told LaPolitics. While the work related to the private claims will likely continue past December, due to appeals and other legal maneuvers, the work of Juneau, a Lafayette attorney, will be concluded by the time New Year’s Day rolls around. The claims process was established in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill that killed 11 people and littered Gulf of Mexico beaches with balls of tar. The closing of the curtain couldn’t come sooner for executives at BP, which is experiencing an earnings slip as costs associated with the oil spill continue to weigh on balance sheets, according to The Associated Press. The numbers tell that particular story:
- One measure of profit suggests BP’s second quarter standing dipped to $684 million, compared to $720 million during the same quarter of 2016.
- BP had to escrow $347 million in the second quarter for the claims process and other expenditures connected to the spill.
- That makes for $63.2 billion expended on the disaster thus far and $39.8 billion in net debt for the company, which was higher than expected. “While net debt rose primarily due to Gulf of Mexico payments, we expect this will improve over the second half as these payments decline and divestment proceeds come in towards the end of the year,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary told the AP.
—After a lengthy and public controversy involving her severe alcoholism, U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi finally took her disability retirement this week. That kicks open a door that was already slightly ajar for potential replacements. As first reported by LaPolitics in the spring, state Rep. Stephen Dwight of Lake Charles is in the mix for the gig. A friend said the battery on Dwight’s cell phone died twice during an avalanche of calls on Monday when Minaldi stepped down. There are other names being tossed around, though—like District Judge Clayton Davis and personal injury lawyer James Cain, the son for former Sen. James David Cain. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge is taking the lead on the appointment, sources say, and of course U.S. Sen. John Kennedy has a seat on the Judiciary Committee.
—They said it: “I deserved it.” —Former Gov. Edwin Edwards, on having “Fast Eddie” as a nickname, on WWL-TV
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
