BP Plc (BP.L) was “grossly negligent” for its role in the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. district judge said on Thursday in a ruling that could add billions of dollars in fines to the more than $42 billion in charges taken so far for the worst offshore disaster in U.S. history.
Shares of BP traded in the United States fell 5 percent, or $2.40, to $45.31, eroding about $8.8 billion of its market value.
“The Court concludes that the discharge of oil ‘was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct’ by BP, said the ruling from U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans.
BP said it would appeal the ruling.
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