According to several legal media outlets, BP has won a court order which will keep several damaging emails out of the trial set to determine responsibility for the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill. Reportedly, the ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan in New Orleans came a day after U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rejected the oil company’s effort to keep evidence about settlements it had reached out of trial. Sources say the ruling came in preparation for a non-jury trial to assign blame for the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
According to legal reports, the U.S. Magistrate granted BP’s request to exclude several 2009 emails from Anadarko employees about storm damage to another Transocean rig under contract with BP. The emails were excluded on the grounds that they contained contain hearsay, which means that they are out of court statements brought to show the truth of the matter asserted.
Reportedly, some of the emails express Anadarko’s disappointment that BP had not disclosed all information relating to damages, and the employee’s amazement that BP would withhold such information. Legal source say the magistrate also granted BP and Transocean’s request to exclude an email in which an employee of Halliburton questions the findings on one of his company’s reports. Sources say another email from a BP geologist to a colleague in 2010 offering “thanks for the shitty cement job.” Reportedly, Halliburton contended that the email was no more than a tasteless joke made by one friend to another.
According to BP’s chief executive, the company is prepared to settle the entire case on reasonable terms, but otherwise will choose to go to trial. Reportedly, BP has set aside around $42 billion dollars for spill costs, however, some analyst feel that if the company is found to be grossly negligent the cost could surpass $60 billion dollars.
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