"Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Liability Rulings Filed"

"In a major ruling in the oil spill litigation, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled Wednesday that BP and Anadarko are responsible parties under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and are liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act for the undersea discharge of oil from the ill-fated Macondo well.

Liability for Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, is yet unresolved. Transocean is not a responsible party under OPA for oil discharge below the surface of the water, Barbier said, but the company may still be responsible for the cost of removing the oil. The court has not yet determined whether Transocean is liable for penalties under the Clean Water Act as an operator of an offshore facility.

Barbier, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1998, made these rulings in response to motions by the U.S. Department of Justice for partial summary judgment. The government had argued in court in January that the companies had already admitted enough information about the facts of the incident to be held liable. "

Rebecca Mowbray reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune February 22, 2012.

SEE ALSO:

"Gulf Oil Spill Spawns Mega-Suit, With Likely Mega-Payouts" (Los Angeles Times)