Judge to hear from explosion survivor in BP trial

The judge presiding over the trial of BP for its role in the 2010 oil spill is set to hear from a survivor of the fatal rig explosion that sent millions of gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a witness list prepared for the case. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is slated to hear testimony this week from Randy Ezell, a drilling supervisor who performed safety tests on the Deepwater Horizon rig before the explosion, according to a witness schedule shown to Bloomberg. The trial resumes today in New Orleans federal court as the U.S. and Gulf Coast states continue talks with BP about a possible settlement of pollution claims over the spill, a person familiar with the negotiations says. Evidence presented by the government and spill victims in the case’s first week “may have encouraged BP to think twice about whether it wants to proceed with a long, expensive trial,” says David Uhlmann, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of Michigan. Uhlmann is the former head of the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section. After hearing all the evidence, Barbier must decide who is liable for damages over the spill, the largest of its kind in U.S. history. He also will rule on whether BP, Transocean Ltd. or other companies were grossly negligent in their handling of the rig and well. His decision will affect what each company may have to pay. Read the full story here.