Third Judge Assigned To Criminal Case From Deadly BP Plant Blast
A third judge has been assigned to preside over the criminal case and resulting guilty plea from BP PLC’s deadly 2005 plant explosion after the previous two recused themselves because of personal connections in the case.Meanwhile, attorneys representing victims of the blast continue to object to the $50 million (€33.62 million) fine BP has agreed to pay as part of the plea agreement resulting from a federal investigation of the blast. One attorney for victims is suggesting the fine should be $1 billion (€670 million).
U.S. District Judge David Hittner was assigned to the case last week after his counterpart in Houston, Gray Miller, removed himself because he was a partner in a Houston law firm that has represented BP in blast-related litigation.
On Tuesday, Hittner issued a brief order recusing himself as well. The order offered no explanation for his action. Hittner declined to comment.
But a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Hittner removed himself because he is friends with a Houston psychiatrist who has worked as an expert witness for BP in civil litigation resulting from the blast.
Last month, BP and the Justice Department agreed that the London-based company would pay a $50 million (€33.62 million) fine and plead guilty to a felony for its role in the explosion that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others.
BP had been scheduled to formally enter a guilty plea in court on Tuesday. But the reassignment of judges has delayed that. Attorneys were set to discuss the status of the case at a court hearing on Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal, who now presides over the matter.
The fine and plea were part of an agreement by BP to pay $373 million (€250.77 million) to settle various criminal and civil charges.
During Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys were expected to discuss various court documents that have been filed in the past week by lawyers representing blast victims who are calling for the plea agreement to be rejected because the fine is insufficient.
Attorney David Perry on Monday filed additional court documents objecting to the plea agreement, accusing BP of violating an agreement connected to a $21 million (€14.12 million) fine issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The explosion at the plant, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Houston, occurred after a piece of equipment called a blowdown drum overfilled with highly flammable liquid hydrocarbons.
The excess liquid and vapor hydrocarbons then were vented from the drum and ignited as the isomerization unit - a device that boosts the octane in gasoline - started up. Alarms and gauges that were supposed to warn of the overfilled equipment didn’t work properly.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, one of several agencies that probed the accident, found BP fostered bad management at the plant and that cost-cutting moves by BP were factors in the explosion.