NBA player blamed BP oil spill for $1.5 million loss. Court blames his contract
A former NBA All-Star from North Carolina lost in a different kind of court Wednesday.
Garner native David West had his nearly $1.5 million award from BP for damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill overturned by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
West played in the NBA for 15 seasons and was a two-time champion when he retired in 2018, the News & Observer reported.
He was a member of the then-New Orleans Hornets in 2010, according to Basketball Reference. That was when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and caused an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, nola.com reported.
Although West was under contract, which was paid in full, he argued he was entitled a payout from BP for financial losses since he earned less money in the final year of the deal than the previous season, according to Reuters.
The terms of West’s contract, which were agreed upon years before the oil spill, called for him to make less money in 2010, which was what the appeals court used in its ruling to overturn the money originally awarded to West, the news agency reported.
“He received every penny specified in that contract both before and after the spill,” the ruling stated. “Still, the Claims Administrator for the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement awarded West almost $1.5 million in ‘lost’ earnings. The Settlement Appeal Panel affirmed, and the district court denied discretionary review. We reverse.”
The court ruling said West could not prove that the reduced salary he received at the end of the five-year contract was a result of the oil spill.
“That contract paid West a total of $45 million. But it was ‘frontloaded,’ meaning West’s annual salary decreased every year of the contract— including from 2009 to 2010,” the ruling read. “West received all $45 million owed to him under the contract.”
When appearing in appeals court, West’s attorney’s argued he was not entitled to the $1.5 million because of “loss” or “lost earnings,” but because he qualified based on “a seven-step mathematical equation used in (BP’s) settlement agreement,” nola.com reported.
The appeals court refuted that claim, saying “that puts the cart before the horse. Only claimants who suffer unexpected damages can submit an Individual Economic Loss Claim.”
There is no word if West will challenge the latest ruling.
During his NBA career, the Garner High star played for the Hornets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors, the News & Observer reported. West was an All-Star for the Hornets in 2008 and 2009, according to nola.com.