Judge Refuses to Delay Oil Spill Lawsuit Against BP (Update2)

[maddezmom]

Source: Bloomberg

Judge Refuses to Delay Oil Spill Lawsuit Against BP (Update2)
May 26, 2010, 12:32 PM EDT
By Laurel Brubaker Calkins

May 26 (Bloomberg) -- An Alabama federal judge denied BP Plc’s request to stay one of more than 130 lawsuits brought by fishermen, property owners and coastal businesses harmed by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill until a judicial panel decides whether to combine the cases into a single multidistrict proceeding.

In an order handed down late yesterday, Chief U.S. District Judge William H. Steele of Alabama called BP’s request to halt the litigation “premature.”

“There is no reason why this action cannot move forward with preliminary steps” before the judicial panel acts on BP’s request to combine all oil spill litigation into one massive case at a hearing in July, Steele said.

“Entering a stay at this juncture and under these circumstances would not rescue defendants from material hardship or the risk of inconsistent adjudications, after all, they must answer the complaint anyway,” Steele ruled


Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-26/judge-refuses-to-delay-oil-spill-lawsuit-against-bp-update2-.html

[eleny]

1. rec'd

[jtrockville]

2. What's delaying the murder charges?