Decision on BP Plea on Hold Until October

A federal judge on Wednesday told attorneys representing the victims of a deadly explosion at a BP refinery in Texas that she would table her final decision on a plea deal between the government and the company until October. District Judge Lee Rosenthal said she needs more time to examine specific aspects of the plea before she can render a decision.

As reported by the Houston Chronicle, Judge Rosenthal will examine economic losses — such as lost wages and medical bills — of the 15 people who died in the explosion as well as those of 35 other people selected by lawyers for the victims. She will use those figures to estimate how those kinds of tangible victim losses compare to the $50 million fine in the proposed plea deal.

The deal calls for BP’s North American products division, which oversees U.S. refineries, to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, pay a $50 million fine and be on probation for three years. Keith Casey, the plant’s current manager, entered the plea on BP’s behalf in February. At the same hearing, several victims implored Rosenthal to reject the deal as too lenient.

As reported by Reuters, “The $50 million criminal penalty – which would be the biggest levied under the Clean Air Act – is part of a $373 million package of fines BP agreed to pay in October to settle a raft of charges, including a 2006 Alaska oil spill and allegations it manipulated the U.S. propane market in 2004. Analysts said the $50 million fine pales in comparison to the $17.29 billion the company earned in 2007.”

Much of this stems from the massive Texas City explosion at its giant Texas City, Texas refinery, which injured 180 people. BP has set aside $1.6 billion to resolve 4,000 civil lawsuits stemming from the explosion, but has not disclosed actual payouts. Less than 20 lawsuits are still pending.