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Asian Americans Accuse BP of Discrimination

Half of the commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are Vietnamese and Cambodian Americans, but BP discriminated against them during the oil spill cleanup by hiring only 7 percent of boats in its Vessels of Opportunity program from them, 55 fishermen claim in court. Before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, "the Gulf Coast seafood industry was a vibrant and lucrative business employing more than 213,000 people and producing more than $10.5 to the local economy," according to the federal complaint. "The force behind such success was the more than 13,000 commercial fishing vessels in the Gulf, over one-half of which were owned by Vietnamese and Cambodian Americans." The disaster that began on April 20, 2010 closed nearly one-third of Gulf waters to fishing. BP hired fishermen the spill threw out of work for its Vessels of Opportunity program cleaning up the oil. More at http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/04/05/56406.htm

BP to pay 4,5 billion penalties

BP Plc on Nov 15, 2012, agreed to pay USD 4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct in the "Deepwater Horizon" sínkiung. The settlement included a USD 1.256-billion criminal fine, the largest such levy in US history,. US Attorney General Eric Holder called the deal a "critical step forward" but was adamant that it did not end the government's criminal investigation of the spill. The government also indicted the two highest-ranking BP supervisors aboard the "Deepwater Horizon" during the disaster, charging them with 23 criminal counts including manslaughter. The company said it would plead guilty to 11 felony counts related to the workers' deaths, a felony related to obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanors. It also faces five years' probation and the imposition of two monitors who will oversee its process safety and ethics for the next four years. The deal will allow BP to focus again on oil production, while one US Senator from Louisiana said he hoped the settlement would not prevent his state and others from collecting civil penalties. BP, which replaced its chief executive after the spill as its market value plummeted, still faces economic and environmental damage claims sought by four Gulf Coast states and other private plaintiffs. The settlement could also prompt a debate in Congress about how funds would be shared with the Gulf Coast states. Congress passed a law last year that would earmark 80 percent of BP penalties paid under the Clean Water Act to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas. The payments would be spread over six years. The company has sold USD 35-billion worth of assets to fund the costs of the spill. Matching that, it has paid USD 23-billion already in clean-up costs and claims, and has a further USD 12-billion earmarked for payment in its spill trust fund. BP's settlement does not resolve civil litigation brought by the US. government and US. Gulf Coast states, which could be considered when the case convenes in February 2013.

BP and plaintiffs reach Gulf oil spill settlement, BP estimated to pay $7.8 billion

BP agreed late Friday to settle lawsuits brought by more than 100,000 fishermen who lost work, cleanup workers who got sick and others who claimed harm from the oil giant's 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in the nation's history. The momentous settlement will have no cap to compensate the plaintiffs, though BP PLC estimated it would have to pay out about $7.8 billion, making it one of the largest class-action settlements ever. After the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989, the company ultimately settled with the U.S. government for $1 billion, which would be about $1.8 billion today. Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/bp-plaintiffs-reach-gulf-oil-spill-settlement#ixzz1o32oWxop