BP shareholders look to save Alaska suit

BP shareholders who sued, and lost, in an Alaska court following the Deepwater Horizon disaster are appealing to the state Supreme Court.

The case is what’s known as a derivative action, in which shareholders filed suit on behalf of the company against BP board members and executives including John Minge, president of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.

The shareholders alleged mismanagement in connection not only with Deepwater Horizon, but with pipeline leaks and other problems in BP’s Alaska North Slope operations.

On June 4, Anchorage Superior Court Judge pro tem Brian K. Clark dismissed the case, citing a Texas federal court ruling that England, where BP is headquartered, is the more appropriate forum for such cases.

Lawyers for the shareholders are now appealing Clark’s decision to the Alaska Supreme Court.

—Wesley Loy