A federal judge has decided that Alabama and Louisiana cannot rely on state laws to recover damages for the August 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident. But the states may use federal statutes to collect monies from companies found responsible in federal courts for the environmental disaster.

 

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier’s ruling came about after defendants in the case asked for dismissal of the states’ complaints. Barbier said the states can recover damages under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and a federal oil pollution law. He based his decision on the fact that the Deepwater Horizon oil platform was operating in federal waters, which meant maritime law trumps state law, according to the judge.

 

Attorneys for the states argued that state law should apply to “fill the gap” between federal and maritime laws.

 

Barbier also set limits on CWA fines for those found liable. The range established will between $1,000 and $3,000 per barrel of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The decision includes economic damage claims filed by 108,000 Americans, including fishermen, seafood processors and distributors, recreational and commercial business owners, plant and dock workers and those who gained temporary work from BP during the cleanup efforts.

 

The first stage of the trial will begin in New Orleans on February 27.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Oil Spill Cases to Rely on Federal Law in Blow to States (by Sabrina Canfield, Courthouse News Service)