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oil spill claim

Oil Spill Claims Update | 29,000 Claims Filed, 1,900 Paid

by Michael J. Evans on August 31, 2010

in Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund,Oil Spill Claims

Oil Spill Claims – Ken Feinberg BP Fund Statistics – August 31, 2010

Kenneth Feinberg gave the Press-Register new figures Monday on the number of oil spill claims that have been paid by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. As of Monday afternoon (8-31-2010), almost 29,000 people have filed claims. About 1,900 checks have been written for a total of $9.7 million. Feinberg said that forms filed by nearly 20,000 individual workers have been reviewed, and that today each one of them will receive a check or a message telling them what information they need to complete their request for payment.

A spokesperson for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) said that payment statistics will be posted online daily at the GCCF website. The report that was posted on the website early Monday afternoon showed 29,867 claims for emergency advance payments, of which 1,935 have been paid. The total amount paid was $9,767,869.68.

The Washington Independent questioned GCCF spokesperson Amy Weiss about Feinberg’s promise that individual claims would be paid within 48 hours. “The 48 hours, as Ken has said, is 48 hours after the documentation is in.” She added that “every claim has been looked at so far.” Weiss said 88% of the requests were for lost earnings, about 6 percent were for “loss of subsistence use of natural resources,” and 4 percent were for damage to property.

Nearly all of the claimants have filed for emergency payments, which are supposed to cover losses for six months, before a final payment is made. One confusing thing is that there have been 1,358 “final claims” submitted, even though the GCCF isn’t accepting final claims yet. Feinberg appears to be confused by this, too, because the GCCF’s report says “Review underway to determine whether claimant intended to file Final Claim.”

If you filed for a final payment by mistake, there are at least two reasons you may want to withdraw it and submit a temporary claim. First, the final claim isn’t likely to be paid and you may not receive the temporary payment you are entitled to receive. Secondly, a final payment requires you to give up the right to request any further payments from BP, whereas temporary payments allow you to request more money.

If you want to read the rules Feinberg issued for processing requests for payments, we’ve put those online for you to read at Scribd.

Ken Feinberg BP Fund related posts:

Check back here for the latest information on getting paid for oil spill claims, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Also, we will soon be launching some new websites with information for people who want help getting paid on oil spill claims.

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BP Claims | BP Will Begin Offering One-Time Payments This Month

by Michael J. Evans on August 2, 2010

in BP Claims

UPDATED 8-21-2010 |Kenneth Feinberg takes over the processing of all BP claims August 23, 2010. Feinberg released his rules for processing oil spill claims on 8-20-2010, giving rise to immediate criticism by the Attorneys General of Florida and Alabama, oil spill attorneys representing claimants affected by the Gulf oil spill, and residents and business owners on the Gulf Coast. Check out our post on Ken Feinberg’s rules for handling oil spill claims and our post on the Florida and Alabama attorneys generals’ attacks on Feinberg’s proposed oil spill claims rules.

Original article

BP will begin offering one-time payments to people and businesses directly affected by the Gulf oil spill this month, reports The Guardian. In exchange, BP will require those who receive payments to waive their rights to file lawsuits.

“The fund will offer lump sum payments in return for an agreement not to pursue claims in court,” a spokeswoman said. BP also says it will offer the option of emergency payouts of up to six months income without requiring a waiver of the right to file a lawsuit.

The Guardian reports that, privately, BP believes that it will be able to hold its damages well below the $20 billion it has committed to pay into an escrow fund for claimants.

The new procedure offering a one-time payment in exchange for a waiver of the right to sue is undoubtedly a major part of BP’s strategy to limit its liability. The company knows that tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents and businesses are in severe financial distress, with some near bankruptcy. For those with small losses which aren’t expected to continue over a long period of time, BP’s one-time settlement offer may be very attractive. For people and businesses with large losses, particularly those with losses that are hard to estimate this soon after the spill, it remains to be seen how attractive BP’s new program will be.

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Is BP’s liability for damages limited to $75 million, as reported by New York Times?

by Michael J. Evans on May 4, 2010

in Oil Pollution Act of 1990,Oil Spill Attorneys,Oil Spill Lawsuits

Oil Spill Attorneys Dispute $75 Million Cap on Oil Spill Lawsuits

5-4-2010 – The New York Times yesterday reported that a federal law (the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or “OPA”) established a $1.6 billion reserve to pay for damages from oil spills, and that “Up to $1 billion of the $1.6 billion reserve could be used to compensate for losses….” But what really started people talking was the blockbuster contained in the Times article’s next sentence: “Under the law that established the reserve, called the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, the operators of the offshore rig face no more than $75 million in liability for the damages that might be claimed by individuals, companies or the government. (emphasis added).

By dinnertime, thousands of articles had been posted on news sites and blogs discussing the possibility that BP would get away with paying only $75 million in damages, and Democratic Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey had introduced legislation to raise that cap to $10 billion. The name of the new bill? The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act.

But what of the Times’s assertion that BP faces “no more than $75 million in liability for the damages that might be claimed by individuals, companies or the government?” It turns out that it’s not nearly as black-and-white as the Times article implies. We can thank Politico for adding some perspective.

Politico quotes Office of Management and Budget spokesman Ken Baer, who said, “If BP is found to be grossly negligent or to have engaged in willful misconduct or conduct in violation of federal regulations, then there is no cap under the Oil Pollution Act for damages. In addition, BP could be liable for damages under additional applicable federal and state laws. You can be sure that BP will be held accountable to the full extent of the law.” Politico also found someone with expertise in the matter, Houston lawyer Hutson Smelley Smelley actually wrote a law review article about the federal law.  According to Smelley, “The legislation allows the states to impose additional penalties and to continue to enforce their own laws.”

Also weighing in on the issue was David Pettit, Director of the Southern California Air Program. Pettit wrote, “The OPA expressly does not preempt claims under state law or common law.  A potential problem for plaintiffs in those non-federal claims is that they may need to prove negligence, but the flip side is that there is, in general, no cap on damages.”

It appears from this corner that the Times may have jumped the gun when it created the impression that BP’s liability to Gulf Coast residents will be limited to $75 million. The Associated Press quotes an Oppenheimer & Co. analyst who estimates that BP may be required to pay $5 billion to $15 billion for the cleanup, damage claims and lawsuits. AP notes that BP has already lost $32 billion in stock market valuation due to concerns over its oil spill liabilities. AP also quotes a New Orleans lawyer who represents oil and gas companies: ”The worst-case scenario is enormous. There are already a number of wrongful-death and personal injury cases out there. There will be no doubt more.”

About 30 class action lawsuits have already been filed by oil spill attorneys representing Gulf Coast residents. (See Oil Spill Lawsuits Flood Courthouses in the Central Florida Law Journal). BP earned profits of $14 billion in 2009, and over $6 billion in the first quarter of 2010. These oil spill attorneys do not believe BP’s damages will be capped at $75 million. BP can afford, and should be required, to pay all damages caused by its massive oil spill.

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