UK paper: Dems urging Obama to sue BP for $100 billion

I'm not hear to praise BP, nor to state they haven't suffered enough for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill--after all, I was among the many Chicago baseball fans who laughed when I heard the unveiling of the BP Cup, which will be awarded to the winner of the six-game White Sox--Cubs annual Crosstown Classic, was greeted with boos. But Britain's Independent is reporting this evening that some Congressional Democrats are suggesting a financial "mafia hit" on BP--suing it for $100 billion.

It is understood that a group of senior congressmen from Mr. Obama's Democratic Party are pushing the President to sue for up to $100bn. These would include punitive, as well as physical damages, effectively representing a punishment to the company and a broader industry deterrent to breaching safety regulations – even though it is not yet clear that BP failed to meet its responsibilities.

The congressmen are understood to have taken their lead from a 1987 case involving Texaco, which was forced into bankruptcy after a $10.53bn damages claim was awarded against the company, even though that amount was later severely cut. Rival Pennzoil made the claim, believing it had a binding agreement to buy Getty Oil before discovering that Texaco had beaten the company to the prize.

A source close to the politicians said: "There are US congressmen who understand the heartbeat of the Obama administration that are looking at (Texaco). There is a real chance – 30 per cent, perhaps a bit more – that BP cannot survive."

If the argument sways Mr. Obama, it will devastate leading British figures who have tried to defend BP. On Friday, Richard Lambert, the director-general of the CBI [Confederation of British Industry], argued that BP "is of great importance to both the US and UK economies "and that the company is committed "to meeting all legitimate claims."

To the Democrats, $100 billion probably seems like pittance, they probably dismiss it as 1/9 of a stimulus bill. The probaby think "socialized oil company" has a nice ring to it.

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