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Oil Spill Claims

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Claims – November 2011 Update on BP Claims Filed With Gulf Coast Claims Facility

by Michael J. Evans on November 3, 2011

in Oil Spill Claims

BP Claims Are Backlogged

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an attorney who represents a number of clients with BP oil spill claims.  Unfortunately, Kenneth Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility have turned out to be a big disappointment to many people with BP claims for money lost due to the Gulf oil spill.

Gulf Coast Claims Facility Performance Falls Short of Promises Made by Kenneth Feinberg

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility, or GCCF, appears to be almost hopelessly bogged down reviewing hundreds of thousands of Gulf oil spill claims. The GCCF has gotten rid of several hundred thousand oil spill claims, but these were almost all quick, small settlements. Some people who took these oil spill settlements were in such terrible financial shape that they felt they didn’t have any choice other than to accept the offer made by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. It has become clear that the GCCF is not going to fully and quickly pay BP claims, as Kenneth Feinberg promised the people of the Gulf Coast.

Gulf Oil Spill Claims by Businesses Are Being Greatly Delayed

People with substantial business claims for Gulf oil spill losses may want to consider making final demands to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.  Under the Oil Pollution Act, when an oil spill occurs, the “responsible party” is required to make an offer to a person who lost money because of the spill. The responsibility party is required under the Oil Pollution Act to make the offer within 90 days of receiving a final demand on an oil spill claim.

BP is certainly a “responsible party” for the Gulf oil spill. Kenneth Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility are acting on behalf of BP. Although there are no guarantees that a person or business which files a final claim will get a response within 90 days, it is a course of action that you may wish to discuss with your attorney.

Oil Spill Losses By Businesses Can Be Documented By Forensic Accounting Firms

I’m working with an alliance of law firms representing people and businesses with BP claims. Our alliance is headed by Texas attorney Brent Coon of Brent Coon & Associates (BCA). BCA has offices in most of the Gulf Coast states. I’ve been impressed with the job BCA and the other firms in our group are doing. We’ve hired forensic accounting firms which are experienced in calculating business losses and providing evidence to prove the amount of those losses.

Many people and businesses use tax preparers or accounting firms which are familiar with tax issues and deductible expenses. Some who are familiar with tax laws may not be aware of all the losses that a business has suffered and will continue to suffer in the future due to the BP oil spill. If you believe you have suffered substantial losses but don’t have a person who can calculate those losses, you may wish to consider talking with a forensic accounting firm or a law firm handling BP claims.

Bankruptcy Issues

I want to make one final point. Some people have lost their businesses or jobs due to the Gulf oil spill. They may be considering filing bankruptcy due to their destitute financial condition. These people may wish to ask their bankruptcy attorney to consider filing a BP claim for them, or they may wish to ask their attorney to talk with a law firm which handles BP claims. Some may be forced to file for bankruptcy. But it doesn’t seem fair that BP should be allowed to put people and businesses in bankruptcy without paying for the damage its oil spill caused.

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Gulf Spill Victims’ ‘Escalated’ Claims Still Languishing

by Sasha Chavkin on October 26, 2010

in BP Claims

By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica, Oct. 25, 2010, 11:38 a.m.

Claimants seeking compensation for the Gulf oil spill who can demonstrate financial need may have their claims “escalated”–selected for prompt processing–by paymaster Kenneth Feinberg’s operation. But some applicants are experiencing long waits even after being told their claims had been expedited. Eleven claimants told ProPublica that despite their claims being escalated, they are still waiting for a decision weeks later. Six of these claimants have been waiting for more than a month.

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BP Claims – Kenneth Feinberg & the Gulf Coast Claims Facility Update

by Michael J. Evans on September 21, 2010

in BP Claims

If anyone wondered what Kenneth Feinberg’s real mission is at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, they can stop wondering now. The Telegraph has an article today in which Feinberg talks about the possibility of BP filing bankruptcy: “It would be a nightmare, says Feinberg.” Then The Telegraph asked, “So, what would success look like for Feinberg and the GCCF? “It can be measured objectively by the number of people who do not take legal action,” he says.

Did you get that? Success for Feinberg is not measured in terms of paying claims fairly and quickly. Success is measured by keeping people out of court. With that as his goal, it now makes sense that he traveled the Gulf states meeting with people, making promises to pay individuals within 48 hours and businesses within 7 days, when it now appears clear that Feinberg could never have met those goals.

When Feinberg first embarked on his traveling sales tour, he said (a) he would pay claims faster, (b) he would be more generous, and (c) people would be crazy to hire a lawyer when he was going to treat them so well. Now his promises of great treatment have proven to be false, it may be a good time for people to rethink validity of Feinberg’s “crazy to hire a lawyer” line.

Even though Kenneth Feinberg has repeatedly disavowed any loyalty to BP, his actions and comments indicate otherwise. And given the fact that BP is paying Feinberg a salary of an undisclosed amount (what’s that about?), it wouldn’t be surprising if Feinberg feels more loyalty to BP than he does to a bunch of small businesses and individuals on the Gulf.

BP’s showed its strategy for Feinberg’s $20 billion fund last week. The $20 billion is one of BP’s biggest weapons in its battle to delay oil spill lawsuits. Bloomberg reported that BP is asking the federal judge overseeing the oil spill lawsuits to:

require virtually all spill victims to have their economic-damage claims examined by administrator Kenneth Feinberg before they’re allowed to sue. BP is paying Feinberg to oversee the evaluation of claims outside court. Requiring victims to first present their claims to the so- called Feinberg Fund, through which BP agreed to pay as much as $20 billion in damages, might delay litigation against BP for months while administrators sort out which claims qualify for payment, plaintiffs’ lawyers said in a Sept. 14 filing.

There may be other reasons, besides delay, to question the handling of BP’s $20 billion fund. Reuters reported recently that BP’s incoming CEO said that the $20 billion fund is sufficient to pay all claims against BP. Reuters had an interesting analysis of the situation:

The fund, which was taken over last month by Obama administration’s former executive pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, could presumably pay the vast majority of the stronger claims, such as those brought by resorts that had oil-smeared beaches. That could leave BP and its defendants facing weaker claims that the fund rejects, such as those brought by businesses miles from areas affected by the spill.

In other words, BP would be very happy for Mr. Feinberg to drag out the claims process for individuals and small to middle-sized businesses, paying off the large businesses so they wouldn’t pursue cases in court.

Is BP expecting Mr. Feinberg to pay resorts and large businesses with strong claims, leaving BP to face smaller and weaker claims in court? Support for that theory may come from Mr. Feinberg’s statements last week to Florida hotel and restaurant owners. Feinberg, who had previously said businesses need to be located near the Gulf in order to get paid, told the business group he has changed his mind. He has now decided he will not enforce a “proximity” rule limiting payments to businesses near the Gulf.

“If I say ‘No, you’re not eligible,’ what have I done but drive you into the court system?” Feinberg said to a meeting of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in Orlando. “So I want to take a look. I make no promises.”

It looks as if Feinberg may have learned his lesson about making promises, after so many of his broken promises have been exposed in newspaper and television reports for a month. We’ve made of list of Kenneth Feinberg promises and posted them on a new site we’ve launched to cover the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, BP claims, and oil spill lawsuits. BP-Claims-Report.com will provide news and information for people who are trying to get repaid for losses caused by the Gulf oil spill.

BP-Claims-Report.com also has a BP Claims Report Card where people with BP claims can grade Kenneth Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. You can view some of the BP Claims Report Card results here. Also, we’ve posted suggestions for Kenneth Feinberg submitted by the first 25 people to fill out the report card. Those comments provide a distressing look at the circumstances that people of the Gulf are facing, through no fault of their own.

If you’re interested in the BP claims process, follow @BPClaimsReport on Twitter, connect with BP Claims Report on Facebook, and check out the videos posted on the BPClaims YouTube Channel. You can also find a free online form that allows you to request a free, no-obligation legal review of your oil spill claims.

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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 | Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund Off to Slow Start on BP Claims

by Michael J. Evans on August 30, 2010

in Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund,Oil Spill Claims

BP Claims – 26,000 Claims Filed, Only 1,200 Paid by Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund

Kenneth Feinberg, head of the new Gulf Coast Claims Facility, spent the last two months promising everyone who would listen that he would process BP claims faster, fairer and more generously than BP. But after Mr. Feinberg took over the BP claims process on August 23, 2010, some people found that they couldn’t tell any difference. Feinberg admitted at the Southern Governors’ Association meeting on Sunday that his office had received 18,900 claims from individuals, and 7,400 claims from businesses, but had paid only 1,200 individuals.

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Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund – New Oil Spill Claims Rules Blasted by AGs

by Michael J. Evans on August 20, 2010

in Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund,Oil Spill Claims

Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund – Oil Spill Rules Don’t Create Trust in Florida & Alabama AGs

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum joined Alabama Attorney General Troy King in criticizing the Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund oil spill claims rules today. McCollum issued a press release containing excerpts from a letter he sent today to Kenneth Feinberg. McCollum’s letter condemned the new rules, saying they contradict many of Feinberg’s previous public statements. McCollum wrote: “the current process appears to be even less generous to Floridians than the BP process.” McCollum added “the process appears to have as its primary goal the reduction or elimination of claims, instead of making claimants whole.”

Damning words from Florida’s chief legal officer.

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Oil Spill Claims | Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund Issues Rules

by Michael J. Evans on August 20, 2010

in Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund,Oil Spill Claims

Oil Spill Claims – Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund Issues Rules

New BP oil spill trust fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg has been flying around the Gulf states meeting with people and businesses who have lost money due to the oil spill. People at these meetings have expressed anger at the way they have been treated by BP, and Ken Feinberg has tried to distance himself from BP. While Feinberg has said Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund will be fairer and faster than BP’s claims process, Feinberg has not provided much specific information about the new rules that will apply. News reports say some people who attended meetings with Feinberg have asked for copies of the rules that will govern the new process, but the rules have not been available until today. In a press release, Feinberg released his Gulf Coast Claims Facility Protocol for Emergency Advance Payments. Feinberg said “These guidelines are the result of many town hall meetings throughout the Gulf, listening to the people affected by this disaster.”

Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund – Some Oil Spill Attorneys Are Waiving Fee on First Payment

Some oil spill attorneys are offering to file oil spill payment applications with the Ken Feinberg BP Fund, and they are waiving attorneys’ fees on Feinberg’s first payment (the payment for 6 months of losses). This means that people can get a lawyer to file the paperwork with the Kenneth Feinberg BP Fund, and at the same time they can pursue a case against BP using the court system. Pursuing BP simultaneously through Feinberg’s processing facility and the court system may be the quickest way to obtain full and fair compensation. I’ll update this post soon to provide a way to contact attorneys offering this service.

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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.

Related posts:

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BP Oil Spill Attorneys | What Some of the Lawyers are Saying

by Michael J. Evans on July 29, 2010

in Oil Spill Attorneys

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has given rise to some of the largest, most complex litigation in U.S. history. There have already been more than 300 lawsuits filed in federal courts, including over 250 filed as proposed class action lawsuits. If the class action lawsuits are certified by a judge as actual class actions, they could include millions of Gulf Coast residents, businesses, and property owners. Defendants in the cases include British Petroleum, Transocean and Halliburton. A ruling is expected in August.

July 29, 2010 – First Hearing Held in all Federal Oil Spill Lawsuits

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) held a hearing in Boise, Idaho, on July 29, 2010, to determine whether the cases should all be consolidated and, if so, which court should handle the cases. It is almost a foregone conclusion that the cases will be consolidated. The big issue is where the cases will be sent. The defendants have argued the cases should be sent to Houston, Texas. They were joined in their request by Houston attorney Mark Lanier, who represents some of the plaintiffs. Other oil spill attorneys argued the cases should be sent to New Orleans, Mississippi, or Mobile, Alabama. The Justice Department argued that the cases should be sent to New Orleans.

Some interesting statements were made by oil spill attorneys at the hearing today, so we thought this would be a good time to quote some of the statements by oil spill lawyers handling the BP lawsuits for Gulf Coast residents, businesses and property owners.

Oil Spill Attorneys – What Some Are Saying

July 29, 2010 – Boise, Idaho – Statements Made to Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML)(from Reuters, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal).

New Orleans oil spill attorney Russ Herman:

“Our culture rises as a gumbo of Cajuns, Creole, French, German and Spanish,” he said. “All of that is threatened now. This disaster threatens our hope and faith. That’s why New Orleans is the best avenue of justice.”

“We rise out of our myth, our metaphor, our mystery, our seafood and our music, which now is threatened, and the threat of our culture threatens our hope and our faith. You have an opportunity to focus the world on this country, on this disaster, so it won’t happen again. Assist us in our resliiency.”

New Orleans oil spill attorney Allan Kenner: “”If after the Sept. 11 attacks this panel had sent all those cases to Houston or brought in a judge [from elsewhere] to sit in New York, the public would be outraged.”

BP attorney Andrew J. Langan, representing BP, reiterated that his client wants the cases sent to the Southern District of Texas for pretrial proceedings, asserting that “the key witnesses and key documents are by far located in Houston.” Langan told the Panel that, if the cases are sent to New Orleans, BP will argue that Judge Carl Barbier should recuse himself from the cases. Judge Barbier sold his oil stocks shortly after the spill and has refused to recuse himself.

“You are the Superman of the Justice League!” Russ Herman said to W. Mark Lanier, a plaintiffs lawyer who wants the cases heard in Houston, his home. (In an interview, Mr. Lanier noted that he had won many cases against oil giants in Houston, and said, “Houston jurors hate big oil, and think they’re all dirty.”)

Other statements by oil spill attorneys about the BP lawsuits and the JPML hearing (July 29, 2010)(from the Los Angeles Times and The Gazette):

Charlie Tebbutt, an Oregon attorney representing the Center for Biological Diversity in its suit alleging violations of the Clean Water Act, said he is pursuing the maximum penalties against BP and Transocean of $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled into the Gulf waters. He estimates the bill could be $20 billion, “if we can prove gross negligence or willful misconduct, which we expect should be relatively easy to prove in this case.”

“The stakes here are tremendous,” said Georgene Vairo, a Loyola Law School professor of civil procedure and expert in complex litigation. “For a single-event type of incident this is the biggest we’ve ever seen, just in the range of claims, the government and private party actions, the cost of claims, the insurance aspects. It’s just the whole nine yards. It’s huge.” “The facts here are going to be relevant to every single claim. What did they do when they built that pipeline and well? Who did what in terms of maintaining the well over time? Did they do the required inspections?” Vairo said. Once those questions are answered in one case, they can be applied to the rest, she said.

Oil spill attorney Allan Kenner: “We are witnessing nothing short of a collapse of an ecosystem that took tens of thousands of years to create.”

Check back for more quotes from oil spill attorneys in the coming days.

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Feinberg | Oil Spill Claims | More About the $20 Billion BP Claims Fund

by Michael J. Evans on July 1, 2010

in Oil Spill Claims

[Update 8-21-2010] The most current information on this topic as of 8-21-2010 can be found at:

[Update 8-3-2010.] Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the $20 billion BP claims fund, is expected to begin processing claims August 23, 2010. Pro Publica reported today that BP has stopped processing some claims, leaving them to be handled by Feinberg’s office. [End update.]

BP Claims Fund Administrator Feinberg: Some People Won’t Be Paid

Information about the $20 billion BP claims fund has been leaking out each day since the it was announced, but what do you need to know if you have lost money due to the Deepwater Horizon disaster? The flow of information about the escrow fund has been much slower than the oil gushing from the Deepwater Horizon oil leak. In fact, it’s still hard to get a handle on exactly which losses will be paid, and how much people can expect to receive. Although Kenneth Feinberg, the new BP claims administrator, has been holding meetings to explain the new process, information has sometimes seemed to change from one meeting to another.

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