An appeals court has decided to not revisit a decision to reject BP's bid to block businesses from recovering money over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, even if those businesses could not trace their economic losses to the disaster, according to the Associated Press.
The disaster killed 11 people and triggered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill, the AP reported.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March voted 2-1 to authorize payments on so-called business economic loss claims, and said an injunction preventing payments should be lifted, according to the AP.
The action preserves U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's ruling that BP had agreed in a 2012 settlement to pay claims without requiring proof that losses were directly caused by the spill resulting from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which killed 11 workers, the AP reported.
BP asked the entire 5th Circuit to rehear the case, but the 5th Circuit voted 8-5 to let the March ruling stand, according to a court filing made public on Monday, the AP reported.
A lower court judge had ruled that BP would have to live with its earlier interpretation of a multibillion dollar settlement agreement over the spill, in which certain businesses claiming losses were presumed to have suffered harm. according to the AP.
BP argued that this would allow businesses to recover for fictitious losses, but the 5th Circuit rejected its appeal, the AP reported.
In a statement, BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company is disappointed in the decision, and is considering its options. Plaintiff attorneys Steve Herman and Jim Roy said in a statement they are "pleased that the court of appeals agreed that BP must honor its contract," according to the AP.
The decision is a setback for BP's effort to limit payments over the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and rupture of BP's Macondo oil well, the AP reported.
