A U.S. District Court judge has given final approval to BP's (BP 0.13%) settlement over damages arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a court filing.
Judge Carl Barbier, who initially assented to the settlement this past May, gave the nod to the estimated $7.8 billion BP will pay to settle more than 100,000 claims in a massive class action lawsuit. The claimants include both businesses and individuals who said the spill resulted in financial or property losses for them.
The disaster was the worst of its type in history. The equivalent of nearly 5 million barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico during the 87-day duration of the spill.
