Thousands of individuals and businesses that sued BP PLC over damage from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill have appealed a judge’s approval of a US$7.8 billion class-action settlement.
Brent Coon, a lawyer for plaintiffs who opted out of the settlement, said in a filing on Friday in federal court in New Orleans that he is appealing the judge’s orders approving the settlement. An attached list names more than 10,000 individuals and businesses who are challenging the accord.
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
Coon said last year that his clients would not participate in the class-action settlement because there were too many technical problems with the claims process, which he called “slow, arduous and unexplainable.”
BP agreed in March last year to pay an estimated US$7.8 billion to resolve most private plaintiffs’ claims for economic loss, property damage and injuries. The settlement was reached days before a scheduled trial on liability for the 2010 spill.
LIABILITY
BP faces additional billions of US dollars in civil pollution fines and costs to restore natural resources damaged by the spill.
US District Judge Carl Barbier has scheduled a non-jury trial for Feb. 25 in New Orleans, where he will apportion civil liability among BP and the other companies involved in the disaster.
In a court filing on Friday, BP asked that criminal indictments against it and its employees not be used as evidence in the civil trial.
BP has agreed to plead guilty to 14 counts, including 11 for felony seaman’s manslaughter, and to pay US$4 billion.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
RSS