FX.co ★ Ruling against BP could bring up to $18 billion in new fines

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier decided that BP Plc was “grossly negligent” and “reckless” in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, a ruling that could lead to nearly $18 billion in civil penalties for the company. BP has already taken more than $42 billion in charges for the environmental disaster. The money went to liquidation of consequences of the spill as well as to the payment of a huge amount of compensations.
A gross negligence verdict carries a fine of $4,300 per barrel, four times higher than the previous one. BP says 3.26 million barrels leaked from the well, while according to the U.S government, 4.9 million barrels spilled.
BP's legal department issued a statement in which it announced its intention to appeal the court's decision as it does not pleads guilty to the charges of "gross negligence".
In a statement, BP said the accusation was “not supported by the evidence at trial. The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case.”
Right after the catastrophe, BP was inundated with lawsuits and demands for compensation. Back in 2013, the company turned to various courts in an effort to suspend compensation payments since many of the filings were "fictitious” and "absurd".
Thus, BP’s complaints cited a $9.7 million payout to a construction company based in northern Alabama and a $21 million payout to a Louisiana-based rice mill 40 miles from the coast. They noted the mill’s revenue rose the year of the spill.
According to BP, the methods of assessment the companies use allow them to overvalue cash flows. As a result, compensation amounts turn out to be much higher than losses.