Deepwater Ruling Could Open Floodgates To Hundreds of Appeals as Rulings Docketed

摘要

The parties to a class action settlement of economic and property damages stemming from the Deep-water Horizon oil spill have the right to federal appellate review of district court decisions on individual claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled (Lake Eugenie Land Dev. Inc. v. BP Exploration & Prod. (In re Deepwater Horizon), 2015 BL 135056, 5th Cir., No. 13-30843, 5/8/15). The May 8 ruling could trigger a flood of appeals. "BP takes the position that there should be a right of review and that they prevailed, but that's not a one-way street," Joseph Rice with Motley Rice, a lead negotiator for the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee for settlements reached with BP, told Bloomberg BNA May 11.