BP Oil Spill Lawsuit – Punitive Damages
Punitive Damages Sought in BP Oil Spill Class Action Lawsuit
August 20, 2010 a new development in the BP oil spill lawsuit broke the news. A new BP oil spill class action lawsuit was filed on US District Court in New Orleans, seeking punitive damages from BP and other companies involved in drilling oil in the region, from the Macondo well. The BP oil spill lawsuit was filed on behalf of Corliss Gallo, a landowner on Grand Terre Island. His property was damaged by the oil spill, and trampled by the cleanup efforts that followed.
Defendants named are BP, Transocean Ltd., Cameron International and Halliburton, who are accused of “gross negligence and willful, wanton, and reckless indifference for the rights of others.” This case of punitive damages in the BP oil spill lawsuit is the first to bring to light the controversial question of punitive damages, after a 1994 decision in the Exxon Valdez oil leak. A jury awarded some Alaska fishermen around $5 billion in punitive damages, but the Supreme Court later reduced the punitive damages to $507 million, which was equal to actual damages.
The Supreme Court ruled that in maritime cases, punitive damages would be on a one-to-one ration with compensatory damages, which was a fair upper limit. However, in the case of reckless profiteering, the ratio could be three to one. The courts must find egregious behavior for the purpose of financial gain, on the part of the defendants, in order for punitive damages to equal three times compensatory damages.
Plaintiff Corliss Gallo’s attorneys will try to show that BP et al failed to fix equipment and knowingly took risks in order to further their profitable gain.
The gigantic BP oil spill class action lawsuit will likely be divided into categories, according to types of damages:
- natural resource damages
- personal injury
- economic injury damages
- racketeering charges
- punitive damages
