The company that owns the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig argued in federal court Tuesday that plaintiffs should not begin collecting evidence and testimony on the Gulf oil spill until the November deadline for claimants to file suit. Transocean Ltd. made it’s arguments in Houston after the federal court there accepted the company’s petition to limit it’s liability in the oil spill to less than $27 million, the amount the company says the sunken rig is worth. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison made no rulings Tuesday, but he scheduled two more court dates for early June, noting he wants to focus on whether the suit should remain in Texas or move elsewhere and whether depositions should begin immediately. Mike Papantonio appears on The Ed Show on MSNBC to talk about some of the problems that the lawsuit is already running into.

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced