Deepwater Horizon litigation to communicate with BP through their attorneys and to take orders from their attorneys." The contracts have the added impact of limiting the number of scientists who are able to work with federal agencies. In August 2010, 77 cases, including those brought by state governments, individuals, and companies, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana under Multi-District Litigation docket MDL No. 2179, captioned "In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010", presided over by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. Judge Barbier is trying the case
Economic effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill approximately $23 billion, in a region that supports over 400,000 travel industry jobs generating $34 billion in revenue annually. On 1 November, BP announced plans to spend $78 million to help Louisiana tourism and test and advertise seafood. The real estate prices and a number of transactions in the Gulf of Mexico area decreased significantly during the period of the oil spill. As a result, area officials wanted the state legislature to allow property tax to be paid based on current market value, which according to Florida State Rep. Dave Murzin could mean millions of dollars in losses for each