Over BP’s objections , a federal appeals court Friday upheld a judge’s approval of the company’s multibillion-dollar settlement with businesses and residents who claim the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico cost them money. BP has argued that U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier and court-appointed claims administrator Patrick Juneau have misinterpreted settlement terms in ways that would force the London-based oil giant to pay for billions of dollars in inflated or bogus claims by businesses. During a hearing in November before a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a BP lawyer argued that Barbier’s December 2012 approval of the deal shouldn’t stand unless the company ultimately prevails in its ongoing dispute over business payments. But the divided panel ruled Friday that Barbier did not err by failing to determine more than a year ago whether the class of eligible claimants included individuals […]