A federal appeals court panel says BP PLC must resume paying claims to businesses while it asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review its settlement with businesses in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 on Wednesday that it will not stop payments while BP appeals an earlier 5th Circuit decision that the settlement does not require businesses to prove they were directly harmed by the spill to collect payments.
Company spokesman Geoff Morrell says in an emailed statement that BP will ask the Supreme Court to review the latest ruling.
The four-sentence judgment does not include detailed reasons for the decision.
The claims fund was set up after a BP well off the Louisiana coast blew out in April 2010.
