Upbeat BP ads lure vacationers back to the Gulf . . but there's more pain yet
The images in the holiday ads for the US Gulf coast being seen widely on US TV this week couldn't be more different than the horror pictures of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But it is the same company behind them: BP.
Laughing vacationers ... great seafood... beautiful beaches. It's all part of BP's gigantic effort to restore its image in the US. That - and sponsoring the US Olympic team of course . So how is progress?
A federal judge signed off on Friday night week on BP's settlement with businesses and people hard hit by the 2010 oil spill.
Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans issued a 125-page ruling on the class-action suit, having given preliminary approval in May. He overruled criticism of the agreement in his Friday ruling.
"None of the objections, whether filed on the objections docket or elsewhere, have shown the settlement to be anything other than fair, reasonable, and adequate," the ruling said. "The low numbers of objections and opt-outs are evidence of the settlement's fairness."
BP has estimated a settlement of about $7.8 billion paid from a $20 billion trust. Thousands of businesses and individuals made claims in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, some coastal counties in eastern Texas and western Florida and adjacent Gulf waters and bays.
BP will pay $2.3 billion to commercial fishermen, seafood boat captains and crew, seafood vessel owners and oyster leaseholders, reported CNN.
The money represents "approximately five times the annual average industry gross revenue for 2007 to 2009 of the seafood industry in the region covered by the settlement agreement." It also "represents 19.2 times lost industry revenue in 2010," the ruling said.
The ruling notes that "the settlement program is processing claims in an "impressive fashion." By last month, 4,500 claims had been processed .
BP said it is pleased the court approved the settlement "resolving the substantial majority of legitimate economic loss and property damage claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon accident."
It called the decision "another important step forward for BP in meeting its commitment to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf and in eliminating legal risk facing the company."
"We believe the settlement, which avoids years of lengthy litigation, is good for the people, businesses and communities of the Gulf and is in the best interests of BP's stakeholders," BP said in a statement.
Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder said BP will plead guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from the explosion and the spill. It agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government penalties.
But it's far from over. The two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon are to be tried on charges of seaman's manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter for each of the 11 men killed in the blast.
The Justice Department in September also accused BP of gross negligence and a "culture of corporate recklessness" in a federal court filing, which expanded the company's liability. A major civil trial will take place in New Orleans in February.