BP faces oil spill victims in US court

British energy giant BP came face-to-face Thursday with victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill during the first court hearing into the case, which is likely to become one of the country's biggest civil trials.

Reuters/Richard Carson

The hearings in Boise, Idaho are to determine whether lawsuits from some 200 plaintiffs can be consolidated into one case in the wake of the three-month crisis, and where the case should be heard.

Plaintiffs and defendants disagree on the venue. While many believe the trial should be staged in Louisiana or Alabama, two of the Gulf states hit hardest by the spill, BP is arguing in favor of Houston, Texas - oil industry headquarters.

"The better access to evidence is in Houston," BP attorney Andrew Langan told a packed courtroom.

Attorney Russ Hermann, representing plantiffs including shrimpers, hotels, food processors and boat captains, argued for a pre-trial in eastern Lousiana, saying: "The oil spill is a threat to our culture. We provide 50 per cent of the seafood in this country." 

A decision is expected around two weeks after the hearing, but the 90-minute session gave trial lawyers a test run for the arguments they will make during legal proceedings that are expected to last for years.