The judge found that there was no evidence that came to light during discovery that the float collar made by Weatherford in any way contributed to the blowout aboard the Deepwater Horizon or to the ensuing oil spill.

Last year, in an effort to minimize its potential liability, Weatherford settled with BP for $75 million.

No plaintiff or defendant objected to the dismissal of Weatherford from the litigation.

Zachary L. Wool, a lawyer with Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix, LLP, authored this blog post.  He can be reached at (504) 524-3300 or zwool@bkc-law.com.

Judge Barbier found that such evidence of prior accidents and BP’s safety record had nothing to do with the goal of Phase I of the trial – getting to what caused the blowout and oil spill on April 20, 20120.  He did find, however, that such evidence of prior accidents and BP’s safety record may be relevant during subsequent phases of the trial, such as when Judge Barbier addresses penalties under the Clean Water Act or the issue of punitive damges.

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.

According to the Associated Press, Judge Barbier will hear approximately 7 hours of opening argument.  Attorneys’ for the plaintiffs in the litigation will speak first, and they will receive 75 minutes.  BP will receive 90 minutes, then Transocean (the owner of the rig) and Halliburton (the cement contractor) will each receive an hour.

The federal government will receive 45 minutes, and the individual states will get 20 minutes.  The remaining 50 minutes will be divided among the remaining, peripheral 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.

On Tuesday, January 31, 2o12, Judge Barbier ruled that the contract between BP and Halliburton shields Halliburton from some, but not all, liability arising out of its conduct.  In the ruling, Judge Barbier found that Halliburton could still be on the hook for punitive damages and civil penalties.  BP had hired Halliburton to supply the cement that would cap the well, which was in the process of happening when the explosion took place.

A magistrate judge, who is working with Judge Barbier and overseeing discovery in the case, also recently ruled that the CEO of Transocean does not have to testify at the Phase I trial.  BP had asked the court to order the CEO into court for testimony, but the magistrate judge ruled that he did not need to come.

Check out a previous post about other rulings for the upcoming trial. Also, read about other news involving the oil spill and what BP knew at the time.

Zachary L. Wool, a lawyer with Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix, LLP, authored this blog post.  You can read his bio here, and you can contact him at zwool@bkc-law.com or (504) 524-3300.

According to WWL-TV, New Orleans, the emails showed the BP calculated internally that the well could dump 3,400,000 gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.  The memo suggests that BP managers recognized the potential magnitude of the spill in its early hours, but worked to keep their models from being revealed to the Coast Guard or the public at large.  At the time, while these high, internal calculations were being made, BP was publicly downplaying how many gallons were spilling into the Gulf’s fragile ecosystem.

On February 27, 2012, Judge Barbier will oversee phase I of the BP oil spill trial.  The trial will address the questions of which parties are at fault.  For more on the trial, check out this blog post.

Zachary L. Wool, a lawyer with Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix, LLP, authored this blog posts.  He represents owners of land covered in oil, as well as individuals and businesses that lost income due to the spill.  He can be reached at (504) 524-3300 or zwool@bkc-law.com.