Texas Court Denies BP's Motion to Dismiss Challenge to 5 Offshore Leases

HOUSTON - A federal judge has denied BP Exploration and Production Inc.'s motion to dismiss a False Claims Act challenge to five drilling leases it holds at a site in the Gulf of Mexico, 190 miles south of New Orleans. Abbott v. BP Exploration and Production Inc., No. H-09-1193 (S.D. Texas).

Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas denied the motion on March 15, concluding in part that plaintiffs met Rule 9(b) standards for specificity in pleading fraud.

Plaintiffs Kenneth W. Abbott, the United States e_x relatione_ and Food & Water Watch …