BP asked the U.S. judge in charge of thousands of damage lawsuits to review a ruling that exposes the company to as much as $18 billion in fines, saying it was based on evidence he said he wouldn’t consider. BP claims the Sept. 4 ruling that the company was grossly negligent in causing the 2010 oil spill was based on expert testimony that U.S. District Judge of New Orleans said he would exclude from the 2013 trial over who caused the disaster. BP asked Barbier to change his finding or grant a new . Barbier improperly relied on the opinion of an expert witness hired by in determining that metal pipe lining in the Macondo well buckled and ruptured near the bottom, preventing cement from sealing the well against leaks, BP said yesterday in a court filing. Barbier cited testimony by Gene Beck, the Halliburton expert, in his 153-page decision […]