On February 27, 2012, Judge Carl Barbier will oversee the phase one trial in the litigation surrounding the BP/Transocean oil spill. The trial has been split into three phases, and each one will be heard without a jury and overseen by Judge Barbier.
With the trial just over a month away, the Plaintiffs Steering Committee revealed its first two witnesses. First, the plaintiffs will call BP American Chairman Lamar McKay. It is expected that his testimony will take several days. Following Mr. McKay, the plaintiffs intend on calling Mark Bly, BP’s executive vice president for safety and operational risk. Their testimony may take the entire first week of the trial.
The phase one trial has several goals. First, Judge Barbier will address the question of whether Transocean can take advantage of an old law limiting its liability in the case. Next, Judge Barbier will answer the even more important question of dividing the blame among the defendants.
Zachary L. Wool, a lawyer with Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix, LLP, authored this blog post. You can contact him at zwool@bkc-law.com, or (504) 524-3300.
