Judge Tosses Racketeering Claims vs. BP Over Oil Spill

BP Plc won two legal victories Friday, as a federal judge threw out racketeering claims made by the lead plaintiffs suing over last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and also set aside a lawsuit by partner Anadarko Petroleum Corp. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans dismissed claims that BP violated a federal anti-racketeering law by defrauding U.S. regulators in connection with the safety of its drilling operations, its ability to respond to any oil spill and its response to the spill.