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Motion: Toss BP supervisors' manslaughter charges

NEW ORLEANS — Lawyers for two BP rig supervisors charged with manslaughter in the Deepwater Horizon disaster say the indictment should be dismissed because prosecutors accuse the men of violating standards that didn't exist when the explosion killed 11 workers.

Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine are charged with 11 counts each of involuntary manslaughter and "seaman's manslaughter."
 
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval has not ruled on an earlier motion to dismiss the "seaman's manslaughter" charges. He heard those arguments Sept. 18.

The new motion filed Thursday says the indictment alleges that Kaluza and Vidrine negligently interpreted a "negative test" of the well on April 20, 2010, the day of the explosion that triggered an oil spill.

The lawyers say federal rules at the time did not mention such tests, let alone require them.