The US state of Alabama is suing British oil company BP for damages after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a spokeswoman for the company in London confirmed Saturday, DPA reported.
Alabama's Attorney General Troy King had announced the decision on Friday, saying the company had caused catastrophic damage to the state and its citizens.
"We are suing them for the amount it will take to make Alabama whole," he said.
The state is also suing Anadarko and TransOcean. TransOcean owned the Deepwater Horizon rig which sank on April 22 after the explosion that ruptured the wellhead. Anadarko is a co-owner of the wellhead.
King told the television station CNN that the lawsuit was a result of BP's delaying tactics, "broken promises" and "their history of saying one thing and doing another."
"Further delay can only further damage our people," he said.
BP rejected King's accusations, saying it had already agreed to compensate those who made legitimate claims.
"We have established a claims process with an initial commitment of 20 billion dollars from BP, and we have already paid 352 million dollars in claims," spokeswoman Sheila Williams said.
The voluntary claims process that BP has established remains the surest and quickest way to get all legitimate claims paid," she added. "It's the best way to ensure that the full amount goes to claimants, and not to pay attorney's fees."