BP Plc employees can't sue managers of the company's retirementsavings plan over losses related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulfof Mexico, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison in Houston yesterday threw outleast eight employee lawsuits that sought to recover millions ofdollars in losses that BP's employee retirement plans allegedlysuffered from the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Thesuits questioned plan managers' investments in BP's shares.

“Examining the fluctuations in BP's stock price suggests thatplaintiffs' losses were only temporary,” Ellison wrote in his42-page ruling. “BP's steady revenue stream and expansive worldwideoperations belie plaintiffs' contention that the Deepwater Horizonexplosion and subsequent spill were a threat to the viability ofthe company going forward.”

BP officials said today the U.S. government is withholdingevidence that would show the spill was smaller than claimed. BPdisputes the government's estimates that that about 4.9 millionbarrels of oil spilled into the Gulf after a rig exploded.

The London-based company is facing litigation over its handlingof the Macondo well off the coast of Louisiana, includingenvironmental claims by the federal government and several states,which could result in as much as $17.6 billion in fines. Earlierthis month, it agreed to pay at least $7.8 billion to settleprivate plaintiffs' claims related to economic loss, propertydamage and personal injuries.

Guy Potvin, a BP's spokesman, declined to comment on yesterday'sruling. Ron Kravitz, co-lead counsel for the BP employees in thelawsuits, said in a telephone interview, “We're reviewing ouroptions on behalf of the participants in the BP plans.”

The workers' consolidated suits alleged BP retirement-planmanagers should have known the company's stock was an “imprudentinvestment” given BP's safety and compliance record before theMacondo spill. The cases were brought under the federal EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act, or ERISA.

'Complete Discretion'

BP employees have “complete discretion whether to invest in theBP stock fund” and plan managers can't be held liable foremployees' own investment decisions, the company's lawyerscountered in their court filings in the case.

Ellison concluded that BP employees couldn't produce enoughevidence of wrongdoing on the part of the retirement plans'managers to justify taking their claims to trial.

“Plaintiffs allegations are insufficient to demonstrate that thealleged fiduciaries should have considered the long-term viabilityof BP's operations at risk,” the judge wrote.

Ellison last month allowed holders of BP American depositaryreceipts to pursue claims alleging violations of U.S. securitieslaw. He dismissed claims by investors who bought ordinary shares ofLondon-based BP.

Last year, Ellison also dismissed some lawsuits brought byinstitutional investors against BP's board and managers over thecompany's losses from the spill. The judge found the claims shouldbe filed in U.K. courts because BP is based there.

The ERISA case is In re BP Plc Securities Litigation, 4:10-md-2185, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas(Houston).

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