A federal appeals court rejected BP PLC’s effort to stop Gulf Coast businesses from collecting payouts from the Deepwater Horizon settlement fund, even when they can’t directly trace their losses to the 2010 oil spill. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling appears to leave the oil company on the hook for billions of dollars more in payments than it originally estimated when it reached a settlement in 2012 with tens of thousands of businesses and individuals along the Gulf Coast. “They have some options for appeal, but it’s a significant loss for BP,” said Tom Claps, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who has followed the case. BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company disagrees with the decision that could allow payouts to businesses that didn’t actually lose money because of the spill. The appeals court in New Orleans upheld a lower court judge’s ruling that the […]