Judge Rules to Uphold Lawsuit Against Drilling Ban

A federal judge, Wednesday, rejected the U.S. government's request to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging its deepwater oil and gas drilling moratorium.



Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. and other drilling companies sued the administration on June 7 after it first ordered a halt to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.



As a result of the lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans blocked implementation of the drilling ban on June 22.



The Obama administration then issued a second drilling moratorium and asked that the Hornbeck lawsuit be thrown out because the first ban was no longer relevant.



In his ruling on Wednesday, Feldman upheld the Hornbeck lawsuit, saying that the new moratorium held no substantial changes from the original ban the suit was filed against.