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Court: BP Must Pay Claims During Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court says BP must continue paying claims from a fund established after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill while the company appeals terms of its settlement with some businesses.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court says BP must continue paying claims from a fund established after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill while the company appeals terms of its settlement with some businesses.

The justices on Monday let stand without comment lower court refusals to halt payments while BP appeals the rulings that businesses don't have to prove they were directly harmed by the spill to collect money.

It was another setback for BP's contention that the claims administrator is misinterpreting its agreement with many businesses.

The 5th Circuit and a district court have ruled that BP agreed in March 2012 to pay such claims without requiring strict proof that the 2010 spill caused losses.

The claims fund was set up after a BP well off the Louisiana coast blew out in April 2010 and spewed oil into the Gulf for nearly three months.

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