US Attorney General Eric Holder announced earlier this month that BP had agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and to plead guilty [JURIST report] to felony misconduct for its role in the devastation caused by the oil spill. Also this month, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana heard arguments [JURIST report] regarding approval of a class-action settlement agreement between BP and various individuals and businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon incident. There, attorneys on both sides urged Judge Carl Barbier to approve the settlement agreement, under which BP is expected to pay approximately $7.8 billion. It has been argued that the settlement is a step in the right direction [JURIST op-ed] for compensating those affected by the oil spill. In May Barbier signed a case management order [JURIST report] outlining the structure for the upcoming trial of Gulf oil spill claims, scheduled for January 14, 2013. The judge divided the trial into two phases. In phase one, or the "incident" phase, the court will address issues arising out of the various parties' conduct leading to the incident and appropriation of their negligence. Barbier gave preliminary approval [JURIST report] to the proposed settlement agreement earlier that month.