Plaintiffs’ lawyers and defense counsel are squaring off over where those scores of oil spill suits should be consolidated, with Houston and New Orleans rising to the top as possible locations for federal multidistrict litigation.

The disaster has spawned cases in states all along the Gulf of Mexico: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. On April 20, the rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, and 11 workers are missing and presumed dead.