Judge Carl Barbier Grants Preliminary Approval For BP Settlement

On Wednesday, US District Court Judge, Carl Barbier decided in favor of moving forward with the BP Oil Spill class action litigation in New Orleans.

The proposed settlement is “fair, reasonable, adequate, entered in good faith, free of collusion, and within the range of possible judicial approval,” Barbier said after granting preliminary approval of the agreement.

He has set a fairness hearing date of November 8 to consider final settlement approval in spite of a BP request to delay any liability trial related to the April 20, 2010 BP Deep Water Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill.

BP has agreed to pay $7.8 billion for economic losses, property damages and injuries. There is no cap and the amount may increase based on the number of claims filed by the victims of the BP Oil Spill.

The BP settlement of March 2, will cover two classes, economic losses and physical injuries that are caused by the oil spill or the cleanup efforts.

It doesn’t include any federal government claims as well as those of Louisiana and Alabama. Banks, casinos, certain individuals in parts of Florida and Texas are also excluded from the settlement.

Those that were harmed by the moratorium on deep water drilling are also left out of this settlement.

The BP Oil Spill victims can elect to “opt out” and file their own lawsuits against BP including those not covered in the settlement or affected by the moratorium.

Those “who opt out or who possess reserved claims will be able to pursue those claims effectively outside” the settlement under the terms of the agreement, Barbier said.The April 20, 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed eleven and the worst oil spill in the United States.

The oil spill harmed marine life and wildlife on the Gulf Coast and affected the livelihood and health of residents of all the Gulf States.D. Miller & Associates, PLLC have been successfully representing victims of BP for seven years, starting with the BP Oil Refinery explosion in Texas City, Texas. They have experience and have been talking with the BP Oil Spill victims from the beginning and are representing businesses and individuals. Contact them for more information about how you should handle your BP claim.

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