NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City is suing BP over the drop in its stock price after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, saying its pension funds lost $39 million.
The lawsuit in federal court in New York claims BP failed to tell shareholders about the risks of its offshore drilling, and that after the spill it tried to minimize the cost to shareholders.
In 2010 the city filed a similar suit in federal court in Texas. That lawsuit was dismissed last year after a ruling that said the federal securities law didn't cover BP stock bought overseas on the London Stock Exchange.
The new lawsuit seeks compensation under state law.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month and announced on Friday by City Comptroller John C. Liu, who is running for mayor. It represents the city Employees' Retirement System and pension funds for city teachers, police, firefighters and other Board of Education workers.
BP is facing a number of shareholder lawsuits over the spill, including a class-action federal suit in which the New York State Common Retirement Fund is a lead plaintiff, along with the Ohio attorney general representing four public pension funds. Public pension funds from a number of states, including Connecticut, Colorado, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, along with a series of private funds and individuals, are also plaintiffs in that case, according to court documents.
A federal judge in Houston ruled in February that case may go forward.
The company's press office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
