Gulf Coast Claims Facility Releases Final Protocol Outlining Final & Interim Payment Stage

Kenneth R. Feinberg, Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com) today released the final protocol for payments for the victims of the BP oil spill. “Claimants will have a choice. They can accept a lump sum final payment for all present and future damage and surrender their right to sue by signing a full release, or they can continue to receive quarterly interim payments based upon documented past damage for that three month period; however, there is no guarantee that, in the future, a lump sum Final Payment will be as generous as it will be currently,” stated Feinberg.
With the Emergency Payments ending yesterday with approximately $2 billion paid to 125,000 individuals and businesses in the Gulf, today begins the Final Payment stage which will last until August 23, 2013. Because of a huge flood of last minute emergency claim submissions, the GCCF will need until December 15 to handle all emergency claims that were filed. The GCCF will then turn its attention to the Final Payment phase.
In order to receive a final or interim payment, claimants must complete an interim or Final Payment Form. Claimants do not need to resubmit documentation. Claim forms can be submitted via the internet through the website at www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com, or by visiting one the 35 claims offices in the gulf, or by US Postal Service: GCCF, P.O. Box 9658, Dublin, OH 43017-4958 or by overnight, certified or registered mail: GCCF, 5151 Blazer Parkway, Suite A, Dublin, OH, 43017-4958 or by fax: 1-866-682-1772, or by email: info@gccf-claims.com or by phone: 1-800-916-4893; multilingual line: 1-800-916-4893 or TTY: 1-866-682-1758.
In order to receive a final payment, which is completely voluntary, claimants must sign a release which, according the Final Protocol: “will waive any rights the claimant may have against BP and any other potentially liable parties to assert additional claims, to file an individual legal action, to participate in other legal actions associated with the Spill, or to submit any claim for payment by the National Pollution Funds Center.”
Interim payments cover only substantiated, past damages. An Interim Payment does not cover any future damages. An interim claim may not be submitted more frequently than once per quarterly period, unless the claimant can demonstrate the presence of pressing circumstances, in which case an Interim Claim may be submitted more than once every quarter. An interim claim for the first quarter may be submitted up to and including December 31. An Interim Claim for the second quarter may be submitted up to and including March 31, third quarter submitted up to and including June 30 and fourth quarter, up to and including September 30.
There will be a limited nonbinding GCCF appeals process for those claimants who receive compensation in excess of $250,000 but believe it was inadequate. All claimants will be able to appeal their GCCF awards, regardless of amount, to the Coast Guard and the Federal Court pursuant to existing law. Also released today is a comprehensive Memorandum of Law by noted Harvard Professor John C.P. Goldberg (available at www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com). The Goldberg Memorandum makes clear that proximity to the spill is a major requirement for a valid legal claim under the Federal Oil Pollution Control Act (OPA). But, according to Feinberg, “the GCCF will be much more generous than current Federal or State Law. Proximity is not a bar to a GCCF claim, but damage must still be proven.“ ###


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