SCOTUS to BP: Pay Up.

BP took their most recent - and slimiest - shot at getting their initial agreement annulled.  Didn't work.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court says BP must continue paying claims from a fund established after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill while the company appeals terms of its settlement with some businesses.
The justices on Monday let stand without comment lower court refusals to halt payments while BP PLC appeals lower court rulings that businesses don't have to prove they were directly harmed by the spill to collect money.
The 5th Circuit and a district court have ruled that BP must stand by its agreement to pay such business claims without requiring strict proof that the spill caused losses.
The order indicates that the high court is unlikely to hear BP's appeal, said Loyola University law professor Blaine LeCesne, who is not involved in the case. BP contends that that the claims administrator is misinterpreting its agreement with many businesses.
"It's obviously a major victory for the plaintiffs, who can now proceed with processing these business economic loss claims," he said. "Given the several months interim before the Supreme Court rules on the appeal, likely many of these claims will have been processed and paid."
Steve Herman and Jim Roy, lead attorneys for businesses and individuals who have filed claims against BP, said in a one-sentence statement that the order "will allow businesses to continue to receive the compensation they're rightly entitled to according to the objective, transparent formulas agreed to by BP."

I wonder how much longer they can stall as they appeal this valid agreement into the ground. I'm surprised that BP's not used the "Panic Defense" thus far. The media has all but forgotten the people and family businesses most harmed - or destroyed - by the spill. Not to mention the still-very-tainted Gulf of Mexico. 

Still, it’s good that the Supremes threw BP out on their slimy ear.

And so it goes.

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