First BP Witness Takes Stand Monday

BP is scheduled to call its first witness Monday at a trial to determine how much more in damages it must pay out from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Associated Press is reporting that Halliburton, BP's cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon drilling project, just rested its case. This next phase of the trial is expected to last six weeks.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is hearing the testimony in a New Orleans coutroom. The trial is to detail reasons for and assign blame in the disaster.

In Feburary, the Tampa Bay Times detailed the number of legal claims piling up against BP in Florida.

• Damages from the oil spill were estimated in 2012 to bring as much as $19 million to Manatee County, according to the Bradenton Herald.
• The city of Tampa is seeking $50 million in damages to cover past and future losses.
• Pinellas County beach communities are seeking $12 million in damages.
• due to the linger effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The grant money will go to the Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

So far 34,000 Florida businesses and individuals have been approved to receive a total of $323 million.

The deadline to file a claim is April 2014, according to the PR Newswire, which reported that "funds established from the BP oil spill settlement are available to businesses in almost every industry ranging from “mom and pop” housekeeping services to a retail stores."

BP Oil Spill Coverage

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