Deepwater Horizon RICO Claims Dismissed
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently issued new orders in the multi-district litigation arising out of the fiery sinking of the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April of 2010.
One of the Court's July 15 orders dismissed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims asserted against the BP defendants in the litigation. Certain plaintiffs accused BP of defrauding government regulators "in connection with the safety of its drilling operations, its ability to respond to any oil spill, and its response to the spill at the Macondo Well." According to the Plaintiffs, the oil spill, and their resulting injuries, stemmed from BP's fraud against government regulators.
Presiding federal district judge Carl J. Barbier agreed with the BP defendants' argument that the RICO claims were not supported by proximate causation. The Court ruled that the Plaintiffs failed to allege a sufficient link between BP's alleged defrauding of regulators and the economic harms that the Plaintiffs ultimately suffered.
The dismissal of the RICO allegations does not affect the numerous other claims that remain pending against BP after the horrific accident, which resulted in deaths and injuries among the Deepwater Horizon's crew and the worst marine oil spill in U.S. history.
Also on July 15, the Court granted BP's motion to stay proceedings on claims asserted against the company by one of its partners in the Deepwater Horizon Macondo Well, Anadarko. The Court concluded that an arbitration provision in the joint operating agreement between BP and Anadarko applied, and that BP had not waived its right to compel arbitration. Thus Anadarko's claims against BP had to be stayed for the time being to allow arbitration proceedings to go forward.
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