Despite what the Wall Street Journal is reporting, my sources in New Orleans are telling me that the settlement talks between the BP lawyers and the plaintiffs’ attorneys have stalled. It appears BP is leaking info to the media to put pressure on the victims’ lawyers to reach an agreement before the case goes to trial in New Orleans.
The number BP is leaking is $14 billion—which is about what they haven’t spent of the $20 billion they agreed to pay for all claims sent to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
It’s high stakes poker and we can only wait to see who wins.