In the best possible world for BP, it convinces Judge Barbier that it was not grossly negligent.
Mr. Barbier was the leader of the "Band of Five" who arrived in Priorat some 25 years ago.
WSJ: The Delicious Resilience of Spain's Priorat Wine Region | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Barbier dismissed all claims against M-I on the 15th day of the trial.
Judge Barbier is an expert in maritime law and has consolidated hundreds of spill-related lawsuits into a single case.
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Such an approach may actually be helped by key elements in a global green recovery strategy (Barbier 2010a and 2010b).
The trial is now being adjourned "in order to allow the parties to reassess their respective positions, " Judge Barbier said.
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"Reviving the world economy is essential, but measures that focus solely on this objective will not achieve lasting success, " says Barbier.
After Barbier's rulings, the trial's fourth week continued with more testimony by witnesses for Transocean, whose chief had executive testified Tuesday.
The most important contribution of a green recovery to the world economy is that it may help alleviate global imbalances (Barbier 2010a and 2010b).
Barbier has heard testimony by more than a dozen witnesses called by the Justice Department and private attorneys for Gulf Coast residents and businesses.
But the jovial Mr. Barbier seems to be doing quite well.
WSJ: The Delicious Resilience of Spain's Priorat Wine Region | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Judge Barbier will then determine whether BP's actions on the oil rig were simply negligent or grossly negligent, which would impose significantly bigger fines on the company.
"I have not heard or seen evidence that would in any way support a finding of gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of Cameron, " Barbier said.
BP, Transocean and Halliburton made similar requests Wednesday for Barbier to dismiss gross negligence and punitive damage claims against them, but the judge said he wasn't ready to rule on them at this stage of trial.
After plaintiffs' attorneys rested their case Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled there was no evidence that BP's drilling fluids contractor M-I LLC made any decision that led to the blowout of BP's Macondo well.
The civil trial set for Monday originally was scheduled for February 2012, but Barbier delayed it to allow BP to wrap up a settlement with a team of private attorneys representing residents and businesses that claimed economic losses from the spill.
Among the company's motivations to settle before a trial would be to avoid the higher end of that range, which U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier could impose if he ruled the company acted with gross negligence before the well blowout on April 10, 2010, that triggered an explosion, killing 11 workers and spawning the nation's worst offshore oil spill.
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