In Re: Deepwater Horizon

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This appeal stems from a loan that Woodbridge Baric gave Jarrod Burrle. Woodbridge Baric and Burrle agreed that Burrle would not be required to repay the loan if his economic loss claims in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill fail unless he had misrepresented his claim to Woodbridge Baric, in which case Burrle agreed to indemnify Woodbridge Baric and hold it harmless. The settlement program eventually paid over $50,000 on one of Burrle’s claims, and Burrle’s attorneys paid Woodbridge Baric $20,000 of those funds in partial repayment of the loan. Louis Freeh was then appointed as special master and subsequently determined that Burrle’s claim was fraudulent and moved the court to order Burrle and others, including Woodbridge Baric, to make restitution for the funds paid in connection with that claim. The district court granted the motion as to Woodbridge Baric. The court reversed, concluding that, because Woodbridge Baric’s claim for the repayment of the loan was not purely contingent upon the success of Burrle’s claims for compensation, the failure of this contingency did not extinguish Woodbridge Baric’s claim and does not prevent Woodbridge Baric from asserting its valid interest in defense of its right to retain the funds as a bona fide payee. View "In Re: Deepwater Horizon" on Justia Law