U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier lashed out at an attorney for BP PLC during a hearing in New Orleans. The company cited alleged corruption in asking to halt the claims process in its $7.8 billion settlement over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill — but where, the judge wanted to know, was the evidence?
"You know, the problem I have here is that you all have made a lot of accusations, put out a lot of innuendo, and I want to know what evidence there is to support this," he said, according to a transcript of the July 19 hearing. "I can't grant an injunction based on suspicion, innuendo, beliefs, somebody who called in some information, we don't even know who they are, until there's some evidence in front of me."
