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In Re: BP P.L.C. Securities Litigation 10-MD-02185-Consolidated

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In Re: BP P.L.C. Securities Litigation 10-MD-02185-Consolidated UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON DIVISION ALAMEDA COUNTY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT Case No.: 12-CV-01256 ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, V. BP p.l.c., BP AMERICA INC., BP EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION INC., ANTHONY B. HAYWARD, DOUGLAS J. SUTTLES, ANDREW G. INGLIS, ROBERT MALONE, DAVID RMNEY, AND H. LAMAR McKAY, Defendants. EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE Case No.: 12-CV-01261 CITY OF PROVIDENCE, Plaintiff, V. BP p.l.c., BP AMERICA INC., BP EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION INC., ANTHONY B. HAYWARD, DOUGLAS J. SUTTLES, ANDREW G. INGLIS, ROBERT MALONE, DAVID RMNEY, AND H. LAMAR McKAY Defendants. STATE-BOSTON RETIREMENT SYSTEM, Case No.: 12-CV-01614 Plaintiff, V. BP p.l.c., BP AMERICA INC., BP EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION INC., ANTHONY B. HAYWARD, DOUGLAS J. SUTTLES, ANDREW G. INGLIS, ROBERT MALONE, DAVID RMNEY, AND H. LAMAR McKAY, Defendants. CONSOLIDATED COMPLAINT Case 4:10-md-02185 Document 439 Filed in TXSD on 09/26/12 Page 2 of 201 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. NATURE OF THE ACTION ..............................................................................................1 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE .......................................................................................... 6 III. THE PARTIES .....................................................................................................................7 A. Plaintiffs .................................................................................................................. 7 B. Defendants .............................................................................................................. 8 IV. NON-PARTIES .................................................................................................................12 V. CONFIDENTIAL WITNESSES .......................................................................................13 VI. SUBSTANTIVE ALLEGATIONS ...................................................................................13 A. BP's Relevant Operations ...................................................................................... 13 B. BP Is No Stranger to Catastrophic Industrial Incidents ........................................ 15 VII. DEFENDANTS' SCIENTER CONCERNING BP'S FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS REGARDING RISKS IN OFFSHORE DRILLING AND BP'S FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT PROPER PROCESS SAFETY CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES..................................................................................................................3 8 A. When They Spoke, Defendants Knew, or Recklessly Disregarded, That BP's Process Safety Procedures Did Not Adequately Address the Known Risks in Deepwater Drilling, Risks that Materialized at the Macondo Well........ 38 B. BP's Scienter for Corporate Statements ................................................................ 46 C. Additional Scienter Allegations: Defendants' Disregard of Safety and Operational Concerns ............................................................................................ 53 D. Additional Scienter Allegations: BP Retaliated Against Individuals Who Raised Concerns About the Safety and Integrity of its Operations ...................... 61 E. Additional Allegations of Scienter ........................................................................ 67 VIII. THE MATERIALIZATION OF THE UNDISCLOSED RISKS — DEEP WATER HORIZON OIL SPILL AND ITS AFTERMATH ............................................................71 A. BP's Systematic Failures Caused the Explosion on and the Sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Rig ........................................................................................ 71 i Case 4:10md-02185 Document 439 Filed n TXSD on 09/26/12 Page 3 of 201 B. BP Was Wholly Unprepared to Contain the Oil Spill ........................... 90 IX. DEFENDANTS MADE MATERIALLY FALSE AND MISLEADING STATEMENTS AND OMITTED MATERIAL FACTS DURING THE RELEVANT PERIOD ....................................................................................... 104 A. The January 16, 2007 Statements .......................................................... 105 B. The May 9, 2007 Statements ................................................................. 106 C. May 16, 2007 Statements ....................................................................... 107 D. The July 24, 2007 Statements ................................................................ 108 E. The September 25, 2007 Statements...................................................... 109 F. The October 25, 2007 Statements .......................................................... 109 G. The November 8, 2007 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #11)] ........................................................................ ill H. The February 22, 2008 Statements [Portions sustained per NY/Ohio Amended Order (Misrepresentation #13)] ............................................ ill I. The February 27, 2008 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #14); Dismissed portions deleted] .......................... 112 J. The April 17, 2008 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #16); Dismissed portions deleted] .......................... 113 K. The December 17, 2008 Statements [Portions Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #18)] ............................................................. 114 L. The February 24, 2009 Statements ........................................................ 115 M. The March 4, 2009 Statements .............................................................. 117 N. The March 10, 2009 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #26)]; Ludlow Order as to Particularity/Falsity/Materiality (Misrepresentation # Li 6)1 ................ 120 0. The April 16, 2009 Statements .............................................................. 125 P. The June 30, 2009 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #30)]........................................................................ 125 Q. The November 19, 2009 Statements ...................................................... 127 11 Case 4:1 Omd-O21 85 Document 439 Filed n TXSD on 09/26/12 Page 4 of 201 It! The February 26, 2010 Statements [Portions sustained as to particularity/falsity per Ludlow Order (Misrepresentation 18)] .................. 130 S The March 5, 2010 Statements [Portions sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #35); Dismissed portions deleted] ................................ 132 T The March 22, 2010 Statements [Sustained as to particularity/falsity/materiality per Ludlow Order (Misrepresentation #8)] 134 SI The March 23, 2010 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #38)] .............................................................................. 137 V The April 15, 2010 Statements [Portions sustained as to particularity/ falsity/materiality per Ludlow Order (Misrepresentations #5, #30 and #3 2); Dismissed portions deleted] ................................................................... 137 W The April 28 - 29, 2010 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentations #42 and 43 )] ................................................................ 149 ill The May 5, 2010 Statements [Sustained per NY/Ohio Order (Misrepresentation #45)].............................................................................. 152 Y. The May 10, 2010 Statements ..................................................................... 153 Z. 157 X. LOSS CAUSATION.......................................................................................... 160 XI. APPLICABILITY OF PRESUMPTION OF RELIANCE: FRAUD-ON-THE MARKET DOCTRINE ..................................................................................... 169 XII. NO SAFE HARBOR ......................................................................................... 170 XIII. RELIANCE ........................................................................................................ 170 XIV. ADDITIONAL ALLEGATIONS OF DIRECT RELIANCE............................ 181 XV. THE CLAIMS ARE TIMELY........................................................................... 183 XVI. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF ..................................................................................... 183 111 Plaintiffs Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association ("Alameda County"), Employees' Retirement System of the City of Providence ("City of Providence"), and State- Boston Retirement System ("State-Boston") (collectively, "Plaintiffs") make the following allegations upon personal knowledge as to their own acts and upon information and belief as to all other matters. Plaintiffs' information and belief are based on their counsel's ongoing investigation. The investigation of counsel is predicated upon, among other things, a review of public filings by BP plc ("BP" or the "Company"), and its subsidiaries and affiliates, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including, among other things, reports filed on Forms 6-K and 20-F; press releases and public statements issued by the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates; media reports about the same entities; publicly available data relating to the prices and trading volumes of BP shares; reports issued by securities analysts who followed BP; factual allegations in pleadings in related lawsuits, including In re BP plc Securities Litigation, No. 4: 10-md-02 185 (S.D. Tex.) and the Court's Order denying in part Defendants' motion to dismiss the claims in that action; and
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