TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge has ordered a Tampa company marine exploration company to pay $1 million to the Spanish government for "bad faith and abusive litigation."
Spain wanted $3.3 million in legal fees after it won its claim to a $600 million haul of sunken treasure that Odyssey Marine Exploration pulled from the bottom of the Atlantic in 2007.
U.S. courts ruled the treasure from a sunken Spanish vessel belonged to Spain. Odyssey argued that it rightfully retrieved the 17 tons of gold and silver.
