MDL NO. 2179
United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana Section J - Judge Barbier
Update: Agreement Reached with BP
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL PRESENTATIONS
LITIGATION UPDATES
LIMITATION DEADLINE - APRIL 20, 2011
The MDL Court has continued the trial set for February 27, 2012 as a result of the agreement between BP and the PSC. The trial will proceed in multiple phases. The first phase of this trial will primarily decide whether Transocean will be allowed to limit the amount of compensation owed to victims of the spill, the allocation of fault for the blowout, and whether the conduct of the defendants rises to the level of gross negligence or reckless conduct. To protect your rights against Transocean, you needed to file an answer and claim to Transocean's limitation complaint. This form was due on or before April 20, 2010.
If you missed the deadline above, you can still file a claim in the Transocean Limitation action with leave of Court, for good cause shown. The Court has established a short form to allow anyone to file their answer and claim to the limitation complaint. This form can be filed with the Court without the payment of a filing fee. In addition to preserving your rights against Transocean, the filing of the short form will join you in the master complaint against the other defendants - including BP. The April 20 deadline does not apply to a claim or action against BP and/or the other defendants that you may choose to file against outside of the Limitation action.
You can find the short form and instructions on how to file it at the above link.
DISCLAIMER
This website is maintained by the Court-appointed Plaintiff Steering Committee (PSC) to provide information to attorneys and litigants. The contents of that Website reflect the opinions and positions of the PSC. In some cases, the law is unsettled, and one or more of the Defendants have taken contrary positions. If you have any questions, you should contact your attorney or an attorney of your choice. The content of the PSC Website, www.bpmdl2179.com, has NOT been submitted to or formally approved by the Court.