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(Corrects dateline to NEW ORLEANS from HOUSTON)
By Kristen Hays and Braden Reddall
NEW ORLEANS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Nearly three years after adeepwater well rupture killed 11 men, sank a rig and spewed 4million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP and the othercompanies involved are about to face their day in court.
The trial over the worst U.S. offshore oil spill is set tostart this morning in New Orleans before a federal judge andwithout a jury. Few expect the case, seen lasting severalmonths, will be decided by the judge.
Efforts to pull together an eleventh-hour settlement overthe weekend did not result in a deal, but legal experts expect aresolution, at least with the U.S. Department of Justice, in thecoming months. Early testimony is likely to set the tone for anysettlement talks, depending on how damaging the evidence is, theexperts said.
"This is a game of corporate chicken," said John Zavitsanos,a Houston civil litigator. "We have tangled with BP often, andthey blink."
Joining well owner BP Plc in Judge Carl Barbier'scourtroom will be rig owner Transocean Ltd and wellcement services provider Halliburton Co.
Lined up against them will be the Justice Department,several Gulf Coast states and other plaintiffs.
BP has a history of settling civil cases before or duringtrial. Four trials began over the 2005 explosion at its TexasCity refinery that killed 15 people. All were settled. Payoutstotaled $3.1 billion. BP has since sold the refinery.
The stakes are higher this time, though. The Macondo wellexplosion and spill on April 20, 2010, affected five statecoastlines, prompted a six-month ban on oil and gas drilling inthe Gulf, and disrupted the livelihoods of fishermen, hoteliersand others.
BP has spent or committed $37 billion on cleanup,restoration, payouts, settlements and fines. That includes $8.5billion to most plaintiffs, a record $4.5 billion in penalties, and a guilty plea to 14 criminal counts to resolve criminalcharges from the Justice Department and civil claims from theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company has sold $38 billion in assets to help cover itsspill-related costs, including its older, smaller Gulf of Mexicooperations.
But the company could end up paying tens of billions more,depending on whether the U.S. government, Gulf states andplaintiffs convince Judge Barbier that BP was grossly negligent.
Simple negligence involves mistakes. Gross negligenceinvolves reckless or willful disregard for human andenvironmental safety and is a difficult standard to prove,experts say.
A finding of gross negligence would open the door topunitive damages against BP, Transocean and Halliburton.
The first phase of the trial, expected to last severalmonths, will focus on the level of negligence as well asapportion blame between the defendants.
The second phase, slated for September, will focus on theflow rate of the oil that spewed from the well. The third phasein 2014 will consider damages. (Writing by Patricia Kranz; editing by John Wallace)
