P.M. BRIEFING : Judge Urges More Oil-Spill Damages

A judge today recommended that Amoco Corp. be ordered to pay about $115 million to France and nearly 90 French citizens or businesses damaged by millions of gallons of oil spilled in a 1978 supertanker accident.

Retired U.S. District Judge Frank McGarr, sitting as a special master, recommended an increase of about $30 million in his original $85.2-million judgment against the oil company. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle will enter a final judgment.

Virtually all parties to the case had asked McGarr to reconsider his January, 1988, decision, issued before his retirement as a federal judge. Amoco and the French plaintiffs immediately indicated that they are likely to appeal today’s ruling.