Louisiana seeks trial in $1bn spill claim against BP

The state of Louisiana has asked a federal judge to declare a jury trial to decide on its claim for more than $1bn from BP Plc to compensate the state for economic losses resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

In a filing Louisiana attorney general Buddy Caldwell asked US District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans to set a free-standing trial that would be separate from the massive three-part case that Barbier is overseeing to determine liability for the worst offshore oil spill in US history.