Court won't stop BP oil spill claims payments

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP PLC must resume paying claims while it asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review its settlement with businesses over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal appeals court panel said Wednesday.

The 2-1 judgment said the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will not put a stop to payments while BP appeals the court’s earlier ruling that businesses, under the settlement, don’t have to prove they were directly harmed by the spill to collect money.