BP oil-spill trial postponed for Mardi Gras, Super Bowl

The trial over liability for BP Plc's 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was postponed to Feb. 25 so the lawyers won't lose their accommodations to Super Bowl and Mardi Gras crowds, a New Orleans judge said.

The Super Bowl is set for Feb. 3, and the last day of Mardi Gras, the pre-Lenten festival, is Feb. 12. The trial, originally set for Jan. 14, will be delayed six weeks because lawyers involved have been told they'll be "kicked out" of their hotel rooms, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said at a hearing yesterday.

"It makes no sense to try and start the trial Jan. 14 then suspend it," Barbier said. Scott Dean, a BP spokesman, declined to comment on the change.

The April 2010 sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig set off the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and led to hundreds of lawsuits brought against London-based BP, owner of the well, and its partners in the project.-- Bloomberg News