Gulf Coast Claims Facility

On Thursday, July 15, 2010, I attended a town hall meeting with Kenneth Feinberg in Lafitte, Louisiana. Mr. Feinberg held Louisiana town hall meetings in Houma, Port Sulphur and Jean Lafitte. At the Lafitte meeting, Kenneth Feinberg revealed the following new information about the Gulf Coast Claims Facility:

Few things to know about the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF): You don’t have to file a claim with the facility. The $20 billion is for individual claims, business claims and government claims. Feinberg only has jurisdiction over individual and business claims but not the government claims. Government claims are sent directly to BP. If the $20 Billion is insufficient, BP says it will honor damages beyond $20 Billion. Also, BP has set aside $100 Million for rig workers because of the moratorium. Feinberg also does not control the $100 million set aside for rig workers. But he does know that money is only for rig workers and is not for rig businesses and not for rig subcontractors. BP has indicated it will not add additional amounts of money to this $100 million rig worker moratorium fund. At some later date, BP may decide that the rig worker claims and the government claims may fall under Feinberg’s control but BP has not decided to do that yet.

Six month emergency payment will be made without obligation to sign a release; Money beyond the six months of emergency payments will be in lump sum if you sign a release of all claims against BP. A claim for the emergency payment money must be paid within 90 days from the day the oil stops. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility will only last for three years.

Everyone who is eligible and can corroborate payment should apply;

Corroborating Payment: What is sufficient to corroborate payment if you have a cash business? If you get paid by a ship's captain in cash and you are making $5000 a month for a six-month fishing season ($30,000), you'll still need to corroborate your claim. To corroborate your claim you can use any of the following:

• Tax returns,
• Profit and loss statement;
• Checks or check stubs
• Docket
• Any third party willing to testify for you (e.g. ship captain or any other person-even your local priest, mayor, sheriff if they have knowledge of your income).
• YOU DO NOT NEED A TAX RETURN; however, there must be some way to prove what you made. Mr. Feinberg cannot simply give money away.

Eligibility: Who is eligible? Mr. Feinberg has claims from 48 states. He has to draw the line somewhere. Who will be covered? Gulf Fishermen, Shrimpers, Oyster Harvester, Food Processor, Hotels on the Beach are covered. It does not matter if the oil is physically at your location. Who is not covered: A restaurant in Boston who cannot get Gulf Shrimp whose business is off 30% will not be covered; The restaurant owner in Idaho is not covered.ⁱ

Fraud: Fraud would destroy credibility of the fund and in the eyes of the public; Department of Justice will be helping, Also, internal fraud mechanisms and local audits will be used.

Privacy Concerns: If a claim is submitted, the file will not be sent to the government. Your information will remain private. No one in Washington or anywhere else will get your personal file with your private information or how much you get paid or your proprietary business information. Don’t worry about confidentiality, your file is sealed with Feinberg for personal information. Although general information will be provided for statistics but without any reference to individuals.ⁱⁱⁱ

In about three weeks, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) will replace BP for claims. Presently, there are 35 offices around the coast (14 in Louisiana) . The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) will take over these offices. However, there will be no need to re-file a claim, no need to start over. Feinberg will make the process much better.

Business interruption and lost profit claims have been slow to pay. BP has not done a good job on these claims. Claims offices will be supplemented to add people to accelerate claims and cut checks.

Claims can be filed and corroborated online. Claim can be filed online at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility website. Claims can also be corroborated online. You never have to go to an office. You can get your claim number online.

If you make a lump sum settlement with BP, you will still be able to sue other parties involved if you want.

You can use a lawyer if you want. Also, if you walk into one of the The Gulf Coast Claims Facility offices in about three weeks, the office will also provide you with people to help you file your claim. There will be people available to assist in with interpretation and filing in English, Vietnamese and Cambodian.

Speed: By the end of first week of August or beginning the second week of August, The Gulf Coast Claims Facility will be up and running. But don’t wait, file your claim with BP today and get a claim number. Once the GCCF is up and running, emergency claims will be approved or disapproved within 48 hours and checks will come within 2 days thereafter. You may qualify for up to 6 months of emergency payments. If you don’t want six months payments all at one time, you don’t need to take it now, you can take for example four months now and two later. Also, if you want some of your six months payment down the road because the six month’s might be more valuable then, you can request it at that time. (e.g. You are a seasonal employee and you think your loss will be $8,000 next year or next month instead of the $5,000/ month loss you have today).ⁱⁱ

Voluntary program: The program is completely voluntary and up to you. You do not need to accept any money from the program. With the emergency payment you do not have to give up one single right.

Apolitical program: Like 911 this program is not a political program. Feinberg has the backing of politicians from Washington, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. He just wants to do right by the people of the Gulf that is all he wants to do.

Program Cannot Solve All of Your Problems: The program can help compensate, but it cannot solve all of your problems. For example, Mr. Feinberg has heard that Katrina financially ruined some people’s income and how can they get money if they were ruined by Katrina? He says that perhaps he can consider your income from before Katrina and perhaps average that income with more recent years of income.

If you have any questions about making a BP claim or would like to request a Free Copy of "7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Filing a Claim for Money from BP", call us at toll free 1-866-558-9151 or contact us online.

1. Apparently there will be other eligible claims that fall somewhere between these two extreme examples dealing with eligibility.
2. However, it appears there is also a 90 day time limit from the “time the oil stops” to file an emergency payment application. Hopefully, Kenneth Feinberg provides a specific date in the future for the beginning of the 90 day period. Has the “oil stopped” if there is still seepage?
3. Please keep in mind the Gulf Coast Claims Facility will probably issue 1099s on funds that it disbursed to you.