A court convicted Total SA in France's worst oil spill and ordered the petroleum giant and three other defendants to pay $285 million in compensation. It was the first time a French court awarded damages for environmental harm.
The ruling found Total guilty of maritime pollution for transporting fuel in a rusty tanker that broke apart in a 1999 storm and stained 250 miles of coast with oil. Compensation was ordered paid to 101 civil parties, mainly associations involved in the cleanup and ecology groups.
