BP board hit with third shareholder suit

Another “shareholder derivative” lawsuit has been filed in Alaska against directors and executives of troubled oil company BP.

It’s the third such suit brought in state Superior Court in Anchorage.

Plaintiffs in the latest case include the Pinellas Park Retirement System (General Employees) and two individual BP shareholders. They’re suing “derivatively” on behalf of BP PLC and subsidiaries BP America Inc. and BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.

Defendants include BP’s board of directors and executives including the company’s chief executive, Tony Hayward, and BP Alaska President John Minge.

The 58-page lawsuit appears nearly identical to two previous shareholder derivative lawsuits filed in May in the Superior Court.

All the suits accuse BP directors and officers of mismanagement with respect to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and environmental problems in the BP-run Prudhoe Bay oil field.

The suits seek compensatory and punitive damages; an injunction compelling the board to ensure BP managers don’t violate safety and environmental laws; and appointment of an independent safety and environmental “corporate monitor” at BP.

Law firms including Ashburn & Mason of Anchorage and class-action specialist Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd of San Diego brought all three suits.

National media reports say BP has been hit with a multitude of lawsuits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

—Wesley Loy