BP Gulf Oil Spill Trial Delay Opposed by U.S. Justice Department

The U.S. Justice Department opposes delaying a liability trial for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said acting U.S. Associate Attorney General Tony West.

The department plans to file court papers objecting to a request from BP Plc (BP/) and lawyers suing the company to delay the start of the trial until after a proposed Nov. 8 hearing on their suggested $7.8 billion settlement for spill and cleanup- related injuries, West said in an interview in Washington today.

The proposed settlement doesn’t include claims by the federal and state governments or financial institutions, casinos and some private plaintiffs.

“We are ready to go to trial and we would like to have a trial as soon as is reasonable and practicable,” West said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Seth Stern in Washington at sstern14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net