BP seeking settlement with plaintiffs group

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Demonstrators from the organization Oceana scrub black paint from plush sea creatures while re-enactoing the BP Macondo Deepwater Horizon oil spill to mark the one-year anniversary of the disaster on Captiol Hill April 20, 2011 in Washington, DC. Oceana, an international non-profit organization devoted to ocean conservation, held the rally to urge Congress to stop offshore drilling. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

Macondo plaintiffs: Said to be in talks for settlement

CHIP SOMODEVILLA

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By News Wires

 28 February 2012 21:55 GMT

BP is seeking to settle a lawsuit over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill by tapping into a $14 billion fund it set aside to compensate fishermen and businesses harmed by the disaster, lawyers familiar with the talks said.

In exchange, the claimants, represented by a group called the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, would drop their lawsuit in a court case scheduled to start in New Orleans on 5 March, Reuters reported.

US District Judge Carl Barbier delayed the trial by a week on Sunday to allow talks between BP and the PSC, which represents fishermen, oystermen, hoteliers and restaurateurs who say their livelihoods were damaged by the 20 April 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and subsequent oil spill.

The settlement would tap the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, a $20…

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