Barbier grants lawyers 6 percent charge on future settlements; Sides with Jindal over Caldwell

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier exiled Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell from Deepwater Horizon litigation and granted plaintiff lawyers a six percent charge on $14 billion in future settlements at BP's Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

On Dec. 28, Barbier established a reserve fund at the request of a plaintiff steering committee preparing for a fault allocation trial starting next month.