Local attorneys will help prosecute BP

MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) - The legal battle over financial responsibility is heating up in the BP oil spill in a multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuit against the oil giant.

It's been nearly six months since the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and leading to the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Late last week, a U.S. District Court Judge in New Orleans named a Plantiff's Steering Committee to head up litigation stemming from the oil rig explosion. The committee is made up of 15 attorneys from across the country.

Two of the attorneys are from our area. Brian Barr is an attorney in Pensacola and Robert Cunningham is in Mobile. Both men are currently in New Orleans meeting with the committee to discuss the work ahead.

"It is a great honor to prosecute BP the way need to be for everyone that has been affected by this spill," said Barr.

It is a class action lawsuit that will represent the 11 people killed, fishermen put out of work from the oil spill and property owners, to name a few.

Barr said you have hundreds of thousands of people impacted, and this will help get the ball rolling.

"A lot of work to do, conducting discoveries, to find out what BP knew, and how for how long. Our primary goal is to get cases to trial as early as we can," said Barr.

Barr said the first case was expected to go to trial in October of 2011, but it was bumped back to February of 2012 by BP.