NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge has pushed back the start of a civil trial for claims against BP PLC and other companies involved in the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on Thursday set a date of Jan. 14, 2013. Trial had been scheduled to start on Nov. 8.

The litigation centers on the oil spill that began in April 2010 from BP's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.

The Justice Department and the state of Alabama had wanted the trial to start this summer, but BP asked for a January 2013 date.

The later date would give Barbier time to grant final approval to a settlement already reached with a committee of plaintiffs attorneys.