All's "Well" For Halliburton: No Sanctions Result From BP's Spoliation Claims

United States District Judge Carl Barbier recently affirmed Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan's denial of BP's motion for spoliation sanctions against Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. BP alleged that Halliburton "intentionally destroyed evidence" and "violated the Court's orders regarding the production of documents." For these violations, BP sought sanctions including an adverse finding against Halliburton, attorneys' fees, and an order compelling Halliburton to deliver a computer used in producing 3D modeling results. Judge Shushan refused to make an adverse finding and refused to award attorneys' fees but ordered Halliburton to deliver the modeling computer for forensic testing.

By way of background, one of Halliburton's main defenses in this multi-district litigation included the assertion that foam cement that Halliburton pumped into the Macondo well on April 19, 2010 was stable. Access to Halliburton's testing results was integral to prove or disprove this