The law firm of Farrell & Patel is one of the largest BP oil spill claim filers in the nation. We have filed over 3,000 business claims for our clients harmed by the negligent actions of BP. One common question people ask throughout this litigation is this: Why are the BP claims taking so long?
The main reason the claims are taking so long is that BP is doing everything possible to abdicate its own responsibility for its catastrophic environmental disaster. Although BP negotiated a settlement in 2012 with plaintiffs, since then, the company has done everything possible to fight its own settlement and delay paying out valid business claims.
One tactic BP has used is the judicial appeals process. Our country allows for appeals to ensure all court decisions are made fairly and correctly, but some defendants abuse this process. BP appealed its own settlement agreement based on arguments that affected less than 1 percent of the total amounts.
This glitch, concerning irregular payments to less than 1 percent of claims, could have been resolved informally. Instead, BP used this small glitch to attack the entire settlement and stop the payments for valid claims. After a year and a half of delay, the appeals court in New Orleans ruled against BP and tried to keep the claims payments coming.
However, BP again appealed to the Supreme Court. Thankfully, the Supreme Court wisely rejected BP’s bid to reopen the settlement just a few weeks ago.
In addition to these delay tactics via meritless appeals, BP is launching a campaign to paint itself as a victim. The Wall Street Journal reports that BP’s post-spill advertising budget has tripled in an attempt to win over the court of public opinion with its baseless assertions.
BP argues many business claims are not valid, but this argument has absolutely no factual basis and has been discredited. An independent audit by Chicago-based McGladrey LLP found 99.5 percent of the claims are entirely valid. Yet, BP ignores this objective, factual and independent audit.
Are You Looking for a BP Oil Spill Claim Attorney?
Since the beginning, our law firm has fought aggressively for our clients to receive the fair compensation they deserve after BP’s negligent actions, which caused people to be killed and injured, businesses to be destroyed and extreme harm to the environment.
In addition to our zealous representation of over 3,000 claims, we work hard to show that our clients will not sit back while BP refuses to take responsibility and pay out the claims on the agreed-upon settlement.
If you have suffered economic loss or property damage, you may still have time to file a claim. If you have a claim pending, we are happy to discuss it with you. Call the BP oil spill attorneys at Farrell & Patel. We are dedicated to the Gulf Coast businesses harmed by BP, and we will not back down.
Farrell & Patel – BP Oil Spill Attorneys
