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BP Rig Supervisors Seek Trial Delay

Two BP rig supervisors have asked a federal judge to postpone their trial on manslaughter charges in the April 2010 deaths of 11 workers. Their trial is set to begin Feb. 5. In a court filing Tuesday, attorneys for BP well site leaders Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine ask for more time to prepare.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Two BP rig supervisors have asked a federal judge to postpone their trial on manslaughter charges in the April 2010 deaths of 11 workers.

Their trial is set to begin Feb. 5. In a court filing Tuesday, attorneys for BP well site leaders Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine ask for more time to prepare. The defense lawyers say Justice Department prosecutors aren't opposed to a delay.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. didn't immediately rule on their request for a late 2013 trial date.

Another judge has postponed a trial for former BP executive David Rainey, who was charged separately with withholding information from Congress about the severity of BP's Gulf oil spill. That judge hasn't set a new date for Rainey's trial, which was scheduled to start Jan. 28.

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