BP balks at paying claims administrator
NEW ORLEANS — BP is balking at paying more than $130 million in fees to the court-supervised administrator of its multi-billion dollar settlement with Gulf Coast businesses and residents after the 2010 oil spill, claiming the settlement program has been plagued by poor productivity and excessive costs.
A federal magistrate has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on whether BP PLC should be ordered to fund claims administrator Patrick Juneau’s proposed third-quarter budget.
In a letter dated Monday, BP claims official Maria Travis said the company cannot determine if Juneau’s budget request is reasonable without more documentation.
“It would be unreasonable to approve a budget that validates and incentivizes the various claims administration vendors to perpetuate their track record of poor productivity and excessive costs,” Travis wrote to Juneau’s office.
More at http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/08/06/bp-balks-at-paying-claims-administrator/?cmpid=hpts .