Judge orders BP to pay $130M in fees to settlement administrator despite company’s complaints

NEW ORLEANS – A U.S. magistrate has ordered BP to pay more than $130 million in fees to the court-supervised administrator of its multibillion-dollar settlement with Gulf Coast businesses and residents after the company’s 2010 oil spill.

U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan ruled Wednesday that BP is obligated to fund the settlement program’s third-quarter budget even though BP complains that its administrator, Patrick Juneau, hasn’t provided adequate documentation for the requested money.

Shushan did say that BP has “legitimate concerns” about Juneau’s operation of the program.

In a letter Monday, BP claims official Maria Travis claimed the program is plagued with problems.

In a separate action, BP has asked a federal judge to suspend settlement payments while former FBI Director Louis Freeh investigates allegations of misconduct by an attorney who worked on Juneau’s staff.