Federal judge urged to approve BP settlement

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- BP and a team of attorneys are urging a federal judge to give final approval to a proposed class-action settlement of economic damage claims after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is hearing arguments Thursday from lawyers who negotiated the deal and attorneys who object to it. Barbier has hinted he won't immediately rule from the bench.

BP estimates it will pay $7.8 billion to resolve the claims through an uncapped settlement. The agreement doesn't resolve claims by the federal government and Gulf coast states.

A trial next year is designed to identify causes of BP's well blowout and assign percentages of fault to the companies involved in the disaster.