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02.29.12

Known Unknowns in the BP Oil Disaster Trial

Known Unknowns in the BP Oil Disaster Trial

Tuesday 28 February 2012
by: Brentin Mock, Bridge the Gulf | Report

If the case doesn't go to trial, the public won't know what we don't know, which to be fair could be a trivial amount of information or the worst of conspiracists' suspicions. I'm told that it's very likely, though, that this will go to trial, mostly because a global settlement is simple as plugging a blown out oil well. There are tens of thousands of individuals who are moving forward with lawsuits against BP with the force and velocity of an oil gusher. And even if most of those find their cases ineligible if just one that's eligible "opts for trial rather than settlement, any information gathered during the course of discovery can potentially be disclosed regardless of whether other parties choose to settle," says LeCesne.

Also, with a high likelihood that punitive damages may be applied against BP, much of the sealed information the public would want access to would come out during that phase of the trial when punitive damages are determined. Not only that, but things excluded from the trial like BP's prior faulty safety record would be used in that phase of the trial --  actually "a cornerstone of the largest punitive damage award in history," according to LeCesne.

Read the entire article:
http://www.truth-out.org/known-unknowns-bp-oil-disaster-trial/1330455733