Carl Barbier

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Carl Barbier
Image of Carl Barbier

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (senior status)
Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

1

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Education

Bachelor's

Southeastern Louisiana University, 1966

Law

Loyola Law, 1970

Personal
Birthplace
New Orleans, La.

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Carl Barbier is an Article III federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D). Barbier assumed senior status on January 1, 2023.[1]

Biography

Early life and education

Barbier graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with his bachelor's degree in 1966, and later from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law with his J.D. in 1970.[2]

Professional career

Judicial career

Eastern District of Louisiana

On the recommendation of Senators Mary Landrieu and John Breaux, Barbier was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by President Bill Clinton on May 19, 1998, to a seat vacated by Okla Jones. Barbier was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 28, 1998, and received commission on October 1, 1998.[3] Barbier assumed senior status on January 1, 2023.

Noteworthy cases

Judge finds BP grossly negligent in oil spill (2014)

On September 4, 2014, British Petroleum (known worldwide as “BP”) was found by a U.S. District Court judge to be grossly negligent in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history. The 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig cost 11 human, and innumerable wildlife, lives, not to mention the pollution of the Gulf of Mexico and its adjacent beaches. Judge Carl Barbier issued a 153-page opinion, wherein he said BP cut costs without regard for safety and with “a conscious disregard for the known risks.”[4]

BP set aside $3.5 billion to pay fines that it expected under the Clean Water Act if the judge had found the company to culpable of simple negligence. However, because Judge Barbier ruled that BP was grossly negligent, the company faced upwards of $18 billion in fines for the pollution its oil spill caused.

Articles:

Deepwater Horizon oil spill cases (2010-2014)
See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, 792 F. Supp. 2d 926/No. MDL 2179)

Judge Barbier presided over the consolidated cases resulting from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, commonly referred to as the Deepwater Horizon spill. Barbier was chosen by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on August 10, 2010.[5]


In December 2012, Judge Barbier approved an unlimited $7.8 billion settlement from BP which covered private claims for loss of property and damage due to the spill. Money was also pledged to monitor the health of plaintiffs in the future, and though the company estimated that as part of the $7.8 billion, the amount was technically unlimited.[6]


Though BP settled lawsuits with private citizens, a number of claims were not satisfied by this ruling.[6]


For example, in February 2014, Judge Barbier ruled that BP would not be able to view confidential documents submitted by investigator Louis Freeh, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Freeh alleged private attorneys acted inappropriately during the claims processing portion of the case. Specifically, Freeh claimed a lawyer who formerly served on claims administrator Patrick Juneau's staff was used to improperly expedite high-stakes claims, including one for $7.9 million. BP requested that Judge Barbier order Freeh to turn over the documents involved in his investigation, but the jurist declined, noting that "BP [had] not established that it [was] more qualified to conduct the investigation than Mr. Freeh and the Freeh Group." Judge Barbier further stated the settlement program was court-supervised, and that if "BP's relief [were] granted, there [was] risk it [would] become a BP-supervised settlement program."[7]


In response to the press generated by this case, the Eastern District of Louisiana created a separate page for rulings in the case. To learn more about those rulings or read the official documents, visit: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, MDL-2179, Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon."

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ U.S. Courts, "Future Judicial Vacancies," accessed December 6, 2022
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Carl J. Barbier"
  3. ↑ THOMAS, "Presidential Nominations 105th Congress: Carl Barbier (USDC, EDLA)," accessed May 21, 2014
  4. ↑ Wall Street Journal, “BP,” September 4, 2014
  5. ↑ Businessweek, "New Orleans judge to handle most Gulf spill suits," August 10, 2010
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bloomberg, "BP Gulf Oil Spill Approves $7.8 Billion Settlement," December 22, 2012
  7. ↑ Times-Picayune, "BP can't see documents of claims investigation, judge rules," February 28, 2014

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
1998-2023		 Succeeded by
-


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