As settlement talks continue, the high-profile legal battle over the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that was scheduled to begin Monday has been delayed a week.

The trial, which is scheduled to take place in Louisiana federal court, is to determine civil liability for the April 2010 oil spill, the worst in U.S. history. Among the defendants are BP (BP), the well operator and majority shareholder in the venture, rig-owner Transocean (RIG), construction contractor Halliburton (HAL, Fortune 500) and other firms associated with the project. Among the thousands of plaintiffs are fishermen, hotel owners and other Gulf Coast residents.