LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - British oil firm BP saidit was considering its options after a U.S. appeals courtrejected its bid to block businesses from recovering money overthe Gulf of Mexico spill even if they could not trace theireconomic losses to the disaster.
The court decision is a setback for the company's effort tolimit payments over the 2010 spill.
BP said on Tuesday that the court's decision would"improperly allow for the payment of losses with no connectionto the spill", which happened after its Macondo well ruptured.
"BP believes that such...claimants are not proper classmembers under the terms of the settlement and is considering itsappellate options," the company said in its statement.
By a 2-1 vote, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in NewOrleans upheld a Dec. 24 ruling by U.S. District Judge CarlBarbier in New Orleans, authorizing the payments on so-calledbusiness economic loss claims. It also said an injunctionpreventing payments should be lifted.