U.S. Disrict Judge Carl Barbier has given the go ahead to allow claims against BP (NYSE:BP) to be placed in what are being called "pleading bundles," which both the defense and plaintiff lawyers agreed to.
Another agreement was made concerning the complaint process itself, which will be simplified in order to make the filing go quicker.
How that will work is the lawyers of the oil companies will put together a "master" complaint which includes all the causes of action brought against Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and BP, or other oil companies connected to the oil spill.
After the plaintiffs file the master complaint, defense attorneys will be able to respond with a "master" answer.
From there, anyone who wants to file a lawsuit can simply check off every cause of action against the oil companies they want to go after.
An example of what a pleading bundle would entail is a grouping of those claiming economic losses, such as hotels and restaurants.
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