Florida announced the decision to add itself to the list of governments, businesses and individuals seeking damages over the oil spill on Saturday, meeting a three-year deadline to claim following the 20 April 2010 spill, reports the Financial Times. The state is also suing oilfield services company Halliburton.

Negotiation

Meanwhile, Mississippi attorney-general Jim Hood confirmed on Friday that the state was suing BP after it failed to agree to a settlement or to an extension of the deadline for claims while talks continued. He claimed that BP ‘refused to negotiate’ and forced the legal action. Mississippi is also suing Halliburton, oil rig operator Transocean and Anadarko Petroleum, a minority shareholder in the project.
Houston – BP’s US headquarters - has also joined the legal action, suing the company for lost tax revenue.
BP and Halliburton have both denied recklessness and gross negligence.