Judge overseeing oil spill cases rules Feinberg isn’t independent of BP

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, the jurist presiding over thousands of BP oil spill-related lawsuits, issued a ruling late Wednesday stating that spill claims czar Ken Feinberg's work has been influenced by BP and ordered him to stop telling claimants that he's working independently from the oil giant.

Since the day he assumed the role of administrator of the BP-funded Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), Ken Feinberg -- who earlier today announced that he thinks the Gulf will fully recover from the spill by next year -- has repeatedly insisted that he's acted completely independent from BP, free from any and all outside influence.

Recent GCCF actions, however, have led many to cast doubt on Feinberg's assertions, and legal experts have weighed in with criticism as well. This led the attorneys representing thousands of aggrieved Gulf Coast residents to request that Barbier step in and oversee all communications between BP and Feinberg, arguing that the GCCF, rather than existing as an independent entity, is essentially working as BP's legal wing.

"After reviewing the facts and submissions by the parties, the court finds that BP has created a hybrid entity, rather than one that is fully independent of BP," Barbier wrote in his ruling. "While BP may have delegated to Mr. Feinberg and the GCCF independence in the evaluation and payment of individual claims, many other facts support a finding that the GCCF and Mr. Feinberg are not completely 'neutral' and independent from BP ... Mr. Feinberg is not a true third-party neutral such as a mediator, arbitrator, or court-appointed special master."

Naturally, attorneys representing Gulf Coast residents affected by the spill hailed Barbier's decision.

"We are pleased that the court unequivocably declared that Mr. Feinberg was not independent and was an agent for BP all along," Jeffrey Breit, a Virginia-based attorney who sits on the steering committee for the joint cases against BP, told The Lookout. "We think the judge's order will fully address the problems that have surfaced as a result of BP's effort to mislead the public. The true beneficiaries of this order are the thousands of people who have been confused and misled by BP's statements."

Barbier did not order that the thousands of people who've accepted the controversial "quick payment" settlements from Feinberg prior to today would be released from the legal stipulations that came with doing so. He asked lawyers representing such claimants to submit additional briefs to the court.

Incredulity over Feinberg's alleged independence climaxed on Monday when an AP report revealed that the GCCF had issued only one final settlement check outside of the thousands of quick payment settlements -- a check for a cool $10 million issued to an unnamed "BP business partner."

The payment, Feinberg said on Monday, came at behest of BP. He said he "never reviewed the claim" and was not "privy to the settlement negotiations between BP and that party." When questioned again today about who the payment went to, Feinberg -- whose law firm is charging BP $850,000 a month for his services -- said that he doesn't know the name of the company.

(Photo: AP)