US Seeks Maximum Fine for BP Oil Spill
New Orleans trial will determine extent of civil liability
BP acted with "wilful misconduct" in the lead-up to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the US government has alleged at the start of the trial over the accident, as it pushes for the highest possible penalties and damages.
In his opening statement, Michael Underhill, presenting the case for the US Department of Justice, said that even if any individual action by BP staff might not amount to wilful misconduct, the "accumulation of actions" that caused the disaster reached that standard. He added: "The evidence will show BP put profits before people, profits before safety, and profits before the environment."
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?