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It is amazing to see how US president can effectively demand something of a private company. No courts needed anymore.
by hasanove 16y ago
It is amazing to see how US president can effectively demand something of a private company. No courts needed anymore.
- tptacek 16y agoYou're right: you don't seem to need courts if you surrender immediately, which is what BP (wisely) appears to have done here.
- bhiggins 16y agoPopular opinion played the biggest role. [edit: spelling]
- scw 16y agos/ll/le/
- faramarz 16y agoWhat if the actual cost ends up ballooning past $20bn? perhaps there was a backroom agreement to cap the liability costs?
- timwiseman 16y agoPresident Obama in his speech specifically said this was not a cap. Also, even if the administration did hypothetically agree this was a cap it would likely not be binding on the courts without further Congressional action when people brought the lawsuits.
- Nelson69 16y agoYeah, I've been waiting for that to leak out. $20bn seems like a lot for PR, why wouldn't you fight that? Unless there is some sort of cap or some reason. What about the folks taking the pay outs too? I'm sure there is some paperwork to sign before you get a cheque. Looking at like the Iraq reconstruction funds, I expect that $20bn to be spent in about a month, a lot of folks won't be paid, we won't know where the money goes and it's just going to be gone.
- blantonl 16y agothe $20bn is a floor, not a ceiling. This entire regulatory political process is just getting warmed up.
- borism 16y agoit's neither a floor, nor ceiling. it's just an estimation.
- pavs 16y agoNot sure if you are seeing this as a good thing or a bad thing.
- ErrantX 16y agoIf he is like me: bit of both.
- ZachPruckowski 16y agoDue to already passed laws, BP owes somewhere in that neighborhood in fines and royalties on the spilled oil, before we even begin to talk about liabilities and negligence and punitive stuff. Like, even if the oil never touched an animal or shore and never caused economic hardship on the Coast, just because it hit the water, they owe billions of dollars. Agreeing to a payment system now, ahead of sorting out the exact fines, is a PR win for both BP and Obama.
- tokipin 16y agoi don't see how this has anything to do with law, beyond the mechanics of setting up an account of this kind. BP could have refused if popular opinion wasn't so strongly against BP, the president's demands would have been meaningless, so this isn't about the president and his "powers," but about the kinds of things you have to do when everyone is rightfully pissed at your company
- lurkinggrue 16y agoYeah, you would think the private company destroyed the gulf of Mexico or something for the way the president was acting.
- jamesseda 16y agowhat do you mean by anymore? Companies and individuals have had the option to settle or go to court when accused of damages for decades.