The company that owns the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig argued in federal court Tuesday that plaintiffs should not begin collecting evidence and testimony on the Gulf oil spill until the November deadline for claimants to file suit.

Transocean Ltd. made its arguments in Houston after the federal court there accepted the company’s petition to limit its liability in the oil spill to less than $27 million, the amount the company says the sunken rig is worth.