BP (BP) Asks for Institutional Lawsuits to be Thrown Out

BP (NYSE:BP) has asked a Texas judge to throw out lawsuits filed by institutional investors against them, which claim the company was at fault in the Gulf oil spills.

The oil giant claims “A shareholder of a company organized under English law cannot pursue a derivative claim on behalf of that company without first obtaining judicial permission from the English High Court.”

Investors sued London-based BP’s board and management last year, alleging they pursued cost-cutting over safety and disregarded “red flags” that could’ve prevented the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, which sank while drilling a BP well off the Louisiana coast, according to Bloomberg.

BP closed Monday at $45.80, up $0.69, or 1.53 percent.