The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans could help BP limit its payout to victims of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and caused the largest U.S. offshore oil spill. In its appeal, BP complained that rules adopted by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier compromised its right to appeal awards he approved and which the company did not like to the 5th Circuit.