U.S. Federal Judge Carl Barbier
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Federal Judge Carl Barbier has filed a motion announcing a settlement agreement between BP and the plaintiffs' steering committee in the Deepwater Horizon case.
The motion revealed an agreement has been reached on the proposed class action settlement, which will now be submitted to the court for approval. Barbier says counsel from each side met with U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan to work out the agreement.
Barbier reported the settlement will likely result in a realignment of the parties in the lawsuit and require substantial changes to the trial plan. Phase I of the trial was scheduled to begin Monday, March 5, 2012, but is now adjourned. The court reports they will engage in a status conference to work out the details of the settlement before setting up a subsequent trial.