BP to admit crimes, pay $4.5 billion penalties

According to the Times

BP, the British oil company, said Thursday that it would pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments to the government and plead guilty to 14 criminal charges in connection with the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago.

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US Coast Guard, via Associated Press

The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that was connected to a well owned by BP killed 11 workers and spilled millions of barrels of oil.

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• Times Topic: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (2010)

The payments include $4 billion related to the criminal charges and $525 million to securities regulators, the company said in a statement. As part of the settlement, BP agreed to plead guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct or neglect related to the deaths of 11 people in the Deepwater Horizon accident in April 2010, which released millions of barrels of oil into the gulf over the course of the next few months.

The Justice Department stated it had also filed criminal charges against three BP employees on Thursday.

 BP still faces even larger civil liability under the Clean Water Act, ranging from $6 to $21 billion, which may come out on the high end of that range in light of the company’s admission about lying to Congress about the size of the spill. BP announced that it had added $3.8 billion to the $38.1 billion charge it already had taken to cover its liability for the spill. 

For details go to: 

BP statement

BP: A Guide to Charges - Law Blog - WSJ:

As to the criminal charge, here's the maritime law 18 USC Sec. 1115 Misconduct of neglect f ship's officers

Every captain, engineer, pilot, or other person employed on any steamboat or vessel, by whose misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties on such vessel the life of any person is destroyed, and every owner, charterer, inspector, or other public officer, through whose fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

When the owner or charterer of any steamboat or vessel is a corporation, any executive officer of such corporation, for the time being actually charged with the control and management of the operation, equipment, or navigation of such steamboat or vessel, who has knowingly and willfully caused or allowed such fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law, by which the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

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BP to Admit Crimes and Pay $4.5 Billion in Gulf Settlement - NYTimes.com

BP to Admit Crimes and Pay $4.5 Billion in Gulf Settlement - NYTimes.com:

 "LONDON — BP, the British oil company, said Thursday it would pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments to the United States government and plead guilty to 14 criminal charges in connection with the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago.The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that was connected to a well owned by BP killed 11 workers and spilled millions of barrels of oil.
The payments include a $4 billion fine to be paid over five years, with much of it to go to government environmental agencies, BP said in a statement.
As part of the settlement, BP pleaded guilty to 11 felony misconduct or neglect charges related to the deaths of 11 people in the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010, which unleashed millions of barrels of oil into the gulf."

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BP in 'Advanced Talks' on Settlement With U.S. Over Gulf Disaster - NYTimes.com

BP in 'Advanced Talks' on Settlement With U.S. Over Gulf Disaster - NYTimes.com: "“BP confirms that it is in advanced discussions with the United States Department of Justice and the Securities & Exchange Commission regarding proposed resolutions of all US federal government criminal and SEC claims against BP in connection with the Deepwater Horizon incident,” BP said in a statement."



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In 2009, Engineers Detailed Storm Surge Threat to New York City - NYTimes.com

In 2009, Engineers Detailed Storm Surge Threat to New York City - NYTimes.com:

by James Glanz and Mireya Navarro

As the authorities examine how they can protect New York City from extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy, one of the nation’s most influential groups of engineers is pointing out that more than three years ago, it presented detailed warnings that a devastating storm surge in the region was all but inevitable.

The warnings were voiced at a seminar in New York City convened by the American Society of Civil Engineers, whose findings are so respected that they are often written into building codes around the world. Corporate, academic and government engineers at the meeting presented computer simulations of the storm-surge threat and detailed engineering designs of measures to counter it.Officials from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and the United States Army Corps of Engineers took part in the seminar, serving on review panels or giving talks.

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Aurora theater shooting fund plan: No money to mentally injured, non-hospitalized victims - Denver - News - The Latest Word

Kenneth Feinberg administrator of charitable fund

Aurora theater shooting fund plan: No money to mentally injured, non-hospitalized victims - Denver - News - The Latest Word: The families of the twelve people who died in the Aurora theater shooting and the victims who were brain injured or paralyzed will split 70 percent of the $5 million left in the Aurora Victim Relief Fund, while those who suffered less severe physical injuries will share the remaining 30 percent, according to a protocol engineered by the fund's "special master" Ken Feinberg and announced this morning by Governor John Hickenlooper's office.
Update, October 15, 4:38 p.m.: A representative of the majority of the families who lost loved ones sent this statement in response to the news:

"The majority of the families of the deceased recognize the need for more donations and are working tirelessly behind the scenes to raise additional funds. We are in the process of aligning with a trusted, nationally-recognized organization to ensure victims of the theater shooting -- the physically and emotionally injured in theater 9 and the physically injured in theater 8 -- will receive donations past the November 15 deadline imposed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper."

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Medicare's Enduring Struggle to Define “Reasonable and Necessary” Care — NEJM

Medicare's Enduring Struggle to Define “Reasonable and Necessary” Care — NEJM
: "No payment may be made . . . for any expenses incurred for items or services, which . . . are not reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member.
— Sec. 1862(a) of the Social Security Act
The Medicare program, among its many functions, serves as the country's preeminent organization for the assessment of health technology. Its decisions to cover and pay for medical technology can have profound consequences for patients' access to therapies, physicians' treatment options, and the fiscal well-being of the program."

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Workers' Compensation: $85 Million Verdict Against KBR for Negligently Exposing Soldiers to Toxins in Iraq

Workers' Compensation: $85 Million Verdict Against KBR for Negligently Exposing Soldiers to Toxins in Iraq: "An Oregon jury returned an $85 Million verdict against Kellog Brown & Root (KBR), a US Iraq War contractor, for exposing Oregon soldiers to toxins and causing them illness. 

After a 3 week trial, the jury deliberated 2 days, and found KBR guilty of negligently exposing the American soldiers to sodium dichromate, a cancer causing toxin substance containing hexavalent chromium. The soldiers complained of respiratory ailments after being exposed in Iraq near a water treatment plant."



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The 2011 Report That Predicted New York's Subway Flooding Disaster - Commute - The Atlantic Cities

The 2011 Report That Predicted New York's Subway Flooding Disaster - Commute - The Atlantic Cities: "Last fall, as part of a massive report on climate change in New York, a research team led by Klaus Jacob of Columbia University drafted a case study that estimated the effects of a 100-year storm on the city's transportation infrastructure. Considering MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota’s comments today that Hurricane Sandy's impact on the subway was "worse than the worst case scenario," it seems pretty safe to put Sandy in the 100-year category. In that case, assuming the rest of the report holds true, the subway system could be looking at a recovery time of several weeks, with residual effects lasting for months and years.

The researchers modeled a potential 100-year storm that consisted of either a category 1 or 2 hurricane hitting nearby, or a severe nor’easter that coincided with high tide. (As we know now, Sandy was a hybrid of all three events.) The models predicted complete flooding of several tunnels after such an event, including all the tunnels in the East River:"



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NFL Concussion Litigation - Plaintiffs Respond

Plaintiffs respond to NFL Motion to Dismiss
by Paul Anderson
http://nflconcussionlitigation.com/

In a scathing 45-page brief, the plaintiffs responded to the NFL’s motion to dismiss, arguing that they deserve to have their day in court.The plaintiffs used this as another attempt to convince Judge Brody, and the public, that their claims have nothing to do with the collective bargaining agreements.At the heart of the preemption issue, the plaintiffs have to show that their purported state-law claims are not substantially dependent upon or inextricably intertwined with the terms of the CBAs. (This is legal jargon meaning that Judge Brody can toss aside the CBAs and adjudicate the players’ claims without resort to the players’ contracts.)The plaintiffs argue that none of their claims require interpretation of the CBA; rather, these are stand-alone claims that can be successfully prosecuted without construing, among others, various health and safety provisions of the CBAs.According to the plaintiffs, the NFL acted negligently in failing to safeguard the health of the players. The NFL allegedly owed a duty to the players based upon its historical role of  “holding itself out as a protector of player well-being,” its “glorification of football violence” and its “voluntary decision to create the MTBI Committee.”This in turn, created a “special relationship” which required the NFL to act reasonably in discharging its duty. According to the plaintiffs, the court would not need to examine the various provisions of the CBA to determine the scope of this relationship because common law principles would apply.

Q&A with Patrick Juneau - Gulf claims administrator

Patrick Juneau - Deepwater Horizon
Claims Administrator

Q&A Oil Spill Chief Weighs In

by Emily Pickrell, Houston Chronicle

Q: How does the Deepwater Horizon Claims Center differ from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility?

A: These are two totally different programs. The Deepwater Horizon Claims Center is a precise, detailed settlement program. It lays out the formula for how you go about determining what your claim is worth and eligibility. It is based on a detailed document, as distinguished from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, whose detail was significantly less. If a claimant wanted to know about eligibility, it difficult to assess under the GCCF.

My main responsibility is to make sure that the settlement program is settled across the board and that there is equal treatment for everyone. We are not going to short one dime off that settlement agreement.

I report to myself and Judge Barbier and that's it. Barbier's a hands-on guy and asks me for data all the time. This is not a transitory thing to him.

Q: How many people are accepting the claim offers they have received from the Claims Center?

A: We have distributed $572 million (as of Oct. 15) with a current acceptance rate of 73 percent. We are aiming for 90 to 95 percent acceptance rate. The resounding feedback of all these determination letters so far has been incredibly positive, with as high as 90 percent acceptance rate from a variety of people.