"Court Says BP’s Spill Agreement Is Binding"

"NEW ORLEANS — In a setback for BP as it deals with the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the company would have to stick to its agreement and pay some gulf businesses for economic damage without their having to prove it was caused by the spill."

"BP had argued strenuously in court, and in newspaper advertisements, that the settlement had been unfairly misinterpreted and that it was being forced to pay for damage unrelated to the accident.

But in a strongly worded opinion, Judge Leslie H. Southwick ruled that the company was bound by the agreement it had signed. That deal said businesses in certain areas along the gulf that could demonstrate economic losses under an accounting formula were due payments without having to provide explicit evidence that their losses were caused by the oil spill."

Campbell Robertson and John Schwartz report for the New York Times March 3, 2014.