Dec 2 (Reuters) - BP Plc won a legal reprieve in itseffort to avoid payments to those whose losses were nottraceable to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, potentiallysparing the oil company of extra costs.
BP had agreed in 2012 to make payments to those who sufferedeconomic losses as a result of the largest U.S. offshore oilspill.
The company, however, complained that the payout formulaworked out by settlement administrator Patrick Juneau was toogenerous and compensates people and businesses that were notharmed.
In March, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier approved Juneau'sevaluation methods. BP contested this approval.
On Monday, a divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals inNew Orleans said the district court erred by approving Juneau'sformula.
"This court's expressing its views through two differentopinions may have created interpretive difficulties on theremand, but the district court erred by not considering thearguments on causation," according to the ruling.
The appeals court halted further payments to the claimantswho did not suffer economic loss or property damage because ofthe spill, pending final disposition of related appeals.
BP originally projected that the settlement would cost $7.8billion, but in July boosted its estimate to $9.6 billion. As ofMonday, about $3.78 billion has been paid out, according toJuneau's claims website. ()
The case is BP Exploration & Production Inc v. DeepwaterHorizon Court-Supervised Settlement Program et al, 5th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-30315.