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By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court onMonday declined to block payments BP PLC is required topay to businesses demanding compensation for the 2010 Gulf ofMexico oil spill while the company appeals a lower court ruling.
The high court rejected the company's emergency application,filed on May 28 after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals lifted an injunction that had preventedpayments being made.
There was no immediate comment from BP on Monday's decision.
The previous week, the appeals court had decided not torevisit a decision rejecting BP's bid to block payments tobusinesses that could not trace their economic losses to thedisaster.
The appeals court in March voted 2-1 to authorize paymentson so-called business economic loss claims, and said theinjunction preventing payments should be lifted. BP already hassaid it will seek Supreme Court review of the ruling.
BP is trying to limit payments over the April 20, 2010,explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and rupture ofBP's Macondo oil well. The disaster killed 11 people andtriggered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill.
A lower court judge had ruled that BP would have to livewith its earlier interpretation of a multibillion-dollarsettlement agreement over the spill, in which certain businessesclaiming losses were presumed to have suffered harm. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller)
