BP's (BP) $20 Billion Fund Goes Far Beyond Legal Requirements Says Company Lawyers

According to BP's (BP) lawyers, the $20 billion escrow fund set aside to pay for damages associated with the Gulf oil spill "far exceeds" legal requirements, according to a court filing by the company.

This stems from request from U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier of New Orleans, who is overseeing over 350 lawsuits seeking damages for economic and personal injuries from the Gulf disaster, for input on whether or not the company is doing enough within the parameters of existing law to compensate those harmed by the spill.

That seems to be an odd move by the judge, as current law is very clear on the matter, and it's irrelevant what someone's opinion is.

You get into subjectivity here, and also into the actual process of determining who qualifies for claims, which can get slippery and just about everybody has an opinion on the matter.

Don Haycraft, a BP lawyer stated, “That there may be different ways to run a claims process does not mean that the GCCF’s chosen methods fail to comply. The statute “does not give claimants, or the attorneys general, any right to demand judicial involvement in or modification of the claims process.”

Commenting on BP's Gulf Coast Claims Facility, attorneys for the government strangely said, “As the United States has said from the outset, the success of the GCCF can only be measured by whether the people of the Gulf feel fairly treated.”

Since when does legal requirements revolve around whether or not someone "feels" they've been fairly treated? That has absolutely nothing to do with the law.

It appears the impetus behind a lot of this isn't claimants getting paid, or getting paid in a timely manner, but lawyers being left out of the financial picture when claimants make a deal with Feinberg for payments.

In other words, this may be a lawyer-manufactured dissatisfaction which may not be based in reality at all.

If claimants think the process is slow now, wait and see what happens if Feinberg is required to operate under government supervision.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Must Turn Over Records Says Barbier

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) has been ordered by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to turn over safety records that encompass other rigs they had in the Gulf of Mexico at the time of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig it had been leasing to BP (NYSE:BP).

In the early part of November, Transocean, which had been resisting pressure to turn over the documents concerning other rigs in the region, said that the request was "overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant and not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence" in the ongoing investigation of the Deepwater Horizon. That was in response to a subpoena issued on October 21.

Transocean said in a prepared statement, "Our focus is on finding the cause, preventing future accidents and improving industry standards. While we do not believe this ruling and discovery will advance those goals, we will, as always, respect and comply with the court's instructions."

BP's (NYSE:BP) $75 Million Cap Pledge being Challenged

Although BP (NYSE:BP) has said almost from the beginning of the oil spill crisis that they would waive the $75 million statutory cap, lawyers for individuals and businesses filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to legally force them to waive the cap.

Lawyers want Barbier to declare the statutory cap as not being applicable in this particular instance.

Evidently the purpose of the motion is to ensure BP doesn't change its mind and "re-urging this defense" sometime later in the proceedings.

BP responded saying, "There is no issue in dispute that the Court needs to address."

They added that because they were against the motion doesn't indicate they are "wavering at all on its previous promises and commitments." They oppose it "simply based on the legal deficiencies" of the motion itself.

Judge Barbier Denies Fast-track BP (NYSE:BP) Trials

In a push to get speedier trials, plaintiffs in lawsuits against BP (NYSE:BP) asked Judge Carl Barbier to fast-track the trials. This was especially true of those who had injuries or loved ones killed from the accident.

While the judge said he sympathized with those requesting the speedier trials, he said expectation were unrealistic concerning how fast the claims could be tried.

The judge did encourage all the parties filing lawsuits to take into consideration settling with the defendants, or otherwise attempting mediation.

If those choices aren't made, it'll probably be many years before all of this is resolved for everyone involved.

Lawyers Pushing for Quicker BP (NYSE:BP) Trials

In court filings today, lawyers for alleged victims of the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill said the first test-case trials should begin in about a year.

Lawyers have been seeking quicker trials for the claimants, while BP and others like Transocean (NYSE:RIG) have wanted to wait to see what happens with the compensation fund, which claims portion is headed by Kenneth Feinberg.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, who is presiding over the trials, was told by lawyers pretrial exchanges of information should begin in October.

BP pushed back saying in it's filing that it's premature at this time to demand early trials, saying it's "overly ambitious."

There are about 400 lawsuits related to the oil spill which Judge Barbier is overseeing.

Cameron (NYSE:CAM) Stops Attempt to Replace Judge Barbier

Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) had been pressing for some time to have U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier recuse himself because of bond holdings in oil companies which could give the appearance of impropriety.

At the time of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, Barbier owned about $30,000 in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG) bonds.

On August 20, Cameron moved to withdraw its recusal motion against Barbier it had filed in June.

On August 25, Barbier allowed the withdrawal to go forward, then canceling a hearing on September 30 which would have dealt with his investments in the oil companies.

Once it was made public knowledge that Barbier owned the bonds, he said he "instructed" his broker to sell them on June 3.

Barbier presides over a number of federal lawsuits from from all five Gulf states affected by the oil spill.