The southeast Kansas town of Neodesha has lost its latest bid to retry a class-action lawsuit. The suit claimed BP of North America should do more to clean up industrial pollution from a refinery that closed in 1970.
The Kansas Court of Appeals rejected the request Friday from residents and officials of Neodesha who sued in 2004 for more than $478 million dollars in cleanup costs plus damages.
A jury ruled for BP in 2007, but the trial judge later set the verdict aside, concluding he gave jurors improper instructions.
The Kansas Supreme Court reinstated the jury's verdict in 2012, which caused the plaintiffs to file for a retrial.
The Court of Appeals acknowledged problems with the first trial but said it found no reason for a new one.
