Oil Spill MDL Judge Dismisses Claims Stemming From Drilling Moratorium

Mealey's (March 14, 2016, 10:26 AM EDT) -- NEW ORLEANS — The federal judge in Louisiana overseeing lawsuits alleging damages caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on March 10 granted BP Exploration & Production Inc.’s motion to dismiss claims brought by individuals who allege that they suffered economic losses as a result of the deepwater drilling moratorium that was issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior following the incident, holding that the plaintiffs failed to state claims under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico on April, 20, 2010, MDL 2179, No. 09-2179, E.D. La.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30818)....