Fla. AG Bondi sues BP over oil spill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a lawsuit on Saturday against BP on the three-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Bondi's office filed the lawsuit against BP and Halliburton in the Panama City division of the Northern District of Florida. The lawsuit comes ahead of the three-year statute of limitations under the Oil Pollution Act to make sure the state can recover its economic losses from the oil spill.

"The state of Florida suffered considerable economic losses as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and BP and Halliburton must be held accountable," Bondi said.

The lawsuit alleges numerous state, federal and maritime counts and seeks lost revenues and punitive damages. The lawsuit alleges that under the Oil Pollution Act, the state is entitled to revenues it lost because of the spill, including corporate taxes, sales and use taxes, cigarette surcharges, cigarette excise taxes, documentary stamp taxes, wine, beer and liquor taxes, rental car surcharges and utility taxes and receipts.

Bondi's lawsuit seeks punitive damages under Florida common law and maritime law related to the egregious nature of the misconduct leading to the economic and environmental disaster.

The lawsuit involves only the economic losses suffered by the state and does not include claims related to the impact of the spill on Florida's environment and natural resources. The lawsuit also does not include any economic loss claims on behalf of local government entities, businesses or individuals.