The state of Oregon sued BP PLC, BP America Inc. and BP Exploration and Production Inc. for losses of close to $19 million suffered by the $56.9 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, Salem, and other Oregon trust funds as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.
According to the complaint filed Thursday by Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Portland, the Oregon Treasury and Oregon Investment Council bought BP ordinary stock between May 2007 and May 2010 on the London Stock Exchange as part of a diversified and global investment portfolio on behalf of the Oregon funds.
The complaint alleges that the explosion and oil spill as well as the company's inability to control or clean up the spill also damaged shareholders because BP's stock dropped almost 50% after the disaster.
“In circumstances like this where something should have happened but did not and it cost our beneficiaries several million dollars, bringing a lawsuit is part of the suite of actions we take to ensure our beneficiaries are protected,” said James Sinks, spokesman for Mr. Wheeler.
BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said in an e-mail that “BP will respond to the specific allegations of this suit through the procedures established by the court.”
