State of Alabama announces $2 billion agreement in principle to settle BP oil spill litigation

In 2015, Alabama announced a $2.3 billion agreement in principle to settle the BP oil spill litigation, the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history.

The agreement was part of a larger settlement worth approximately $18.7 billion, including federal state and local government entities.

Alabama received over $2 billion in funds, including compensation for economic losses, natural resource damages, and the Clean Water Act civil fines and penalties.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform exploded about 100 miles off Alabama’s coast, allowing oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days before responders capped it. The spill devastated Alabama’s beaches, tourism industry, and businesses throughout the state, causing brutal tax losses and environmental impacts.

Jere Beasley and Environmental Section Head Rhon Jones and a team of lawyers from Beasley Allen represented Gov. Bentley’s office in this litigation. Jones, along with lawyers Parker Miller, Jenna Fulk, and Rick Stratton, were deputized by Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange as deputy attorneys general for the State of Alabama.

“I was very humbled to serve the Governor of our state and to be deputized by the Attorney General in this monumental litigation,” Rhon Jones, Environmental Section Head said. “This was a great day for the State of Alabama. The State was devastated by the 2010 oil spill, and our litigation team from Beasley Allen, led by Parker Miller, did an outstanding job pressing BP in court to reach this point. It was my pleasure to work on behalf of the State and lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office to help resolve what I believe is the most significant piece of litigation ever to touch Alabama.”

Parker Miller spearheaded Beasley Allen’s damage and litigation efforts.

“Having worked on the State’s damage claims and also in Court against BP on behalf of the State, I can say without hesitation that this was a fair deal for Alabama,” Parker Miller, Principal said. “I am proud of the efforts of our team at Beasley Allen, Corey Maze, and Win Sinclair at the Attorney General’s Office, Cooper Shattuck, and the state employees that spent so many hours with us working this case to the point where BP had to respect it.”