BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

[Sally Furniss]

BP agrees $28 billion spill claims fund

Last updated 07:34 17/06/2010


President Barack Obama and BP have reached agreement on a $20 billion (NZ$28b) fund to compensate victims of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the giant British company's chairman apologised to America for the worst spill in US history.

BP is suspending its dividends to shareholders to help pay for the costs, said chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg.

Obama announced the agreement after a four-hour meeting with BP officials.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/3821802/BPs-28b-spill-fund

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

BP Establishes $20 Billion Claims Fund for Deepwater Horizon Spill and Outlines Dividend Decisions

Release date: 16 June 2010

Following a meeting with the President of the United States, the BP Board announces an agreed package of measures to meet its obligations as a responsible party arising from the Deepwater Horizon spill.



Agreement was reached to create a $20bn claims fund over the next three and a half years on the following basis:

• BP will initially make payments of $3bn in Q3 of 2010 and $2bn in Q4 of 2010. These will be followed by a payment of $1.25bn per quarter until a total of $20bn has been paid in.
• While the fund is building, BP's commitments will be assured by the setting aside of U.S. assets with a value of $20bn. The intention is that this level of assets will decline as cash contributions are made to the fund.
• The fund will be available to satisfy legitimate claims including natural resource damages and state and local response costs. Fines and penalties will be excluded from the fund and paid separately. Payments from the fund will be made as they are adjudicated, whether by the Independent Claims Facility (ICF) referred to below, or by a court, or as agreed by BP.
• The ICF will be administered by Ken Feinberg. The ICF will adjudicate on all Oil Pollution Act and tort claims excluding all federal and state claims.
• Any money left in the fund once all legitimate claims have been resolved and paid will revert to BP.

<!--ENDlain Text para-->
The fund does not represent a cap on BP liabilities, but will be available to satisfy legitimate claims. Further and more detailed terms regarding the establishment and operation of the claims fund and the ICF will be finalized and announced as soon as possible.

As a consequence of this agreement, the BP Board has reviewed its dividend policy. Notwithstanding BP's strong financial and asset position, the current circumstances require the Board to be prudent and it has therefore decided to cancel the previously declared first quarter dividend scheduled for payment on 21st June, and that no interim dividends will be declared in respect of the second and third quarters of 2010.

The Board remains strongly committed to the payment of future dividends and delivering long term value to shareholders. The Board will consider resumption of dividend payments in 2011 at the time of issuance of the fourth quarter 2010 results, by which time it expects to have a clearer picture of the longer term impact of the Deepwater Horizon incident.

The Board believes that it is right and prudent to take a conservative financial position given the current uncertainty over the extent and timing of costs and liabilities relating to the spill. BP's businesses continue to perform well, with cash flows from operations expected to exceed $30bn in 2010 at current prices and margins before taking into consideration costs related to the Deepwater Horizon spill. BP's gearing level remains at the bottom of its targeted band of 20-30 per cent. In addition, the Company has over $10bn of committed banking facilities. To further increase the Company's available cash resources, the Board intends to implement a significant reduction in organic capital spending and to increase planned divestments to approximately $10bn over the next twelve months.
<!--ENDlain Text para-->

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Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: "We appreciated the constructive meeting conducted by the President and his senior advisers and are confident that the agreement announced today will provide greater comfort to the citizens of the Gulf coast and greater clarity to BP and its shareholders. We welcome the administration's statements acknowledging that BP is a strong company and that the administration has no interest in undermining the financial stability of BP. This agreement is a very significant step in clarifying and confirming our commitment to meet our obligations. We regret the cancellation and suspension of the dividends, but we concluded it was in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders."

Chief Executive Tony Hayward said: "From the outset we have said that we fully accepted our obligations as a responsible party. This agreement reaffirms our commitment to do the right thing. The President made it clear and we agree that our top priority is to contain the spill, clean up the oil and mitigate the damage to the Gulf coast community. We will not rest until the job is done."

http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062966

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Gulf Paymaster: People In 'Desperate' Shape

Feinberg Says 'Frustration,' 'Anger' Present In Gulf Coast

POSTED: 6:26 am CDT June 21, 2010
UPDATED: 8:06 am CDT June 21, 2010

WASHINGTON --
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The man President Barack Obama picked to run the $20 billion Gulf oil spill damage fund said Monday many people are in "desperate financial straits" and need immediate relief.

"Do not underestimate the emotionalism and the frustration and the anger of people in the Gulf uncertain of their financial future," Kenneth Feinberg told interviewers. "It's very pronounced. I witnessed it firsthand last week."

Feinberg, who ran the victims claim fund set up in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, said he is determined to speed up payment of claims.

His appearance came a week after the administration worked out an arrangement with oil giant BP to establish an independent claims fund -- initially $20 billion -- and pledged to reconfigure the system and expedite payments. Feinberg said BP has paid out over $100 million so far, and various estimates place total claims so far in excess of $600 million.

"The top message is the message conveyed to me by the president," Feinberg said. " ... We want to get these claims out quicker. We want to get these claims out with more transparency." He said people can file electronically for relief, if they wish, and they need not hire a lawyer. He also said he believes that "when a person comes in and asks for emergency assistance, they shouldn't have to keep coming back," suggesting lump-sum emergency payments.

.../
http://www.wdsu.com/money/23973817/detail.html

 

[LaMenchos]

Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

BP's $6bn oil spill cost is two-thirds higher than 'worst-case scenario'
​

BP's clean-up costs for the Gulf of Mexico have now reached $6.1bn (?3.8bn) ? two-thirds higher than the worst case scenario cited in June by Tony Hayward, its chief executive.
​

Full text: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...o-thirds-higher-than-worst-case-scenario.html


By Rowena Mason, Energy Correspondent
Published: 6:00AM BST 10 Aug 2010

...


Tony Hayward told The Daily Telegraph at the beginning of June that he was expecting only another $2bn to $3bn of costs on top of the $1bn already spent if the well were not plugged until the end of August.


However, paying $319m in compensation to affected workers, trying different methods to kill the leak and mopping up the spill has been more expensive than BP foresaw.


In another hit to the oil giant's cash flow, it yesterday placed $3bn into an account administered by a US government representative, who will oversee the distribution of funds to victims of environmental damage.


BP has promised up to $20bn for the "escrow account" in a deal personally negotiated by US President Barack Obama, putting in another $2bn this year and then $1.5bn per quarter.


BP's partners in the stricken well, Anadarko and Mitsui, have both refused to pay their 25pc and 10pc of the costs respectively. However, BP has suspended dividend payments and been pursuing a programme of asset disposals, netting around $9bn so far from the sale of fields in the US, Canada, Egypt and Colombia.

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Claims chief leads tense, angry meeting in Houma

John DeSantis
Senior Staff Writer

<!-- /BYLINE --><!-- PUBDATE -->
Published: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 11:07 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 1:55 p.m.

<!-- /PUBDATE -->HOUMA ? The Gulf oil-spill claims chief apologized before more than 500 people Monday for delays in processing checks during a sometimes-raucous meeting attended by fishermen and other business people.

Ken Feinberg, administrator of the $20 billion fund being used to pay claimants for damages from the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, also told the crowd he may rescind a decision to dock fishermen's claims for money they earned cleaning up the spill for oil giant BP.

?In light of a good deal of criticism from this group and others, I am considering the deduction of the Vessel of Opportunity payments,? Feinberg said, drawing a round of applause.

At a meeting with reporters after the event, Feinberg said about 1,000 claims appear to be fraudulent on their face or seriously lacking credibility, and will not be paid at all.

But 12,000 claims, he said, are documented and awaiting evaluation.

?That is about 12,000 that appear to be eligible and appear to be well-documented,? Feinberg said.

Data supplied by the fund Feinberg oversees show 14,618 claims have been submitted from Louisiana. Of those, 3,580 have been paid, nearly $43.8 million combined.

Of 55,364 claims submitted overall, 12,666 have been paid, totaling about $102.6 million.

Last month, Feinberg told a larger crowd ? while speaking from the same stage at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center ? that checks for qualified individual claimants would go out within 48 hours of filing and within a week for businesses that filed.

While he noted that many claims have been successfully paid, he acknowledged that many more have not.

.../
Much more:
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/2...aims-chief-leads-tense-angry-meeting-in-Houma

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Feinberg May Ease Test for BP Spill Claims Distant From Coast

<CITE class=byline>By Jim Snyder -<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>document.write(dateFormat(new Date(1284495024000),"mmm d, yyyy h:MM TT Z"));</SCRIPT> Sep 14, 2010 3:10 PM CT </CITE>

Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle/Bloomberg

Kenneth Feinberg, responsible for compensating victims of the BP Plc?s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is encouraging restaurants and hotel owners to apply, even if their businesses aren?t within a few miles of the coast.

?I would propose that those who believe they have a valid claim, who have been harmed as a result of the spill, wherever they are located without regard to proximity, fill out a claim,? Feinberg said today at a meeting of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in Orlando.

Feinberg said he remained skeptical about the legal eligibility of businesses that are further from the coast, and he is concerned that basing reimbursement on proximity would drive more people to court and undercut a goal of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility to reduce litigation. The claims facility will be more generous than a court, Feinberg has said.

The issue of compensating Florida hotels and restaurants that say a drop in tourism tied to the spill has hurt their business is among the most contentious Feinberg faces. Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, said Feinberg is being more restrictive in setting eligibility than required by federal law in protocols for paying early claims.

Feinberg told restaurant and hotel owners today that he may set aside cash for their claims similar to the $60 million account set up for Realtors who lost sales and commissions tied to the spill. The money is being distributed through state real- estate trade groups and not the claims facility.

?I?ll try to find a way that we can avoid the courtroom,? Feinberg said.
16,000 Claims

The claims facility Feinberg runs is using the $20 billion escrow fund BP set up to avoid protracted legal fights. Since taking over on Aug. 23, Feinberg said more than 16,000 claims have been paid for $175 million in emergency costs. He said 50,000 claims have been filed, with 2,000 duplicates and 3,000 lacking sufficient documentation to be paid.

Claimants can apply for emergency payments worth a total of six months of compensation until Nov. 23. After that, claimants will apply for final payments. To receive those checks, people and businesses will have to waive their rights to sue BP and possibly other companies involved in the spill.

Feinberg told the trade group the scope of the waiver was still being negotiated.

Pressure to pay claims from businesses not near the beach was primarily coming from Florida, which is the most dependent on tourism of the five states along the Gulf of Mexico, Feinberg said. He said attorneys general from other states have urged him not to deplete the $20 billion fund by paying claims far removed from the coastline.

?The challenge is to come up with some way that will satisfy you, will satisfy governors and attorneys general in five states, will satisfy me, and will satisfy everybody associated with Gulf Coast Claims Facility,? Feinberg said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Snyder in Washington at jsnyder24@bloomberg.net.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...t-for-bp-spill-claims-distant-from-coast.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Justice Department joins call for BP claims czar Kenneth Feinberg to speed up payments

Published: Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:39 PM Updated: Monday, September 27, 2010, 8:31 PM



President Barack Obama's Justice Department has joined the criticism of Obama's appointed czar for handling personal and business claims against BP for the Gulf oil spill.

Matt Stamey / The Houma Courier via APKenneth Feinberg, manager of the Gulf oil spill relief fund, talks to the crowd at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center in Houma, La., on Sept. 13. <!-- --><!-- -->

Claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg has been offering apologies for weeks about the pace of payments, especially in light of admittedly pie-in-the-sky initial promises of paying all documented individual emergency claims in two days and businesses in seven days or less. Starting with an interview two weeks ago with The Times-Picayune, Feinberg has been saying the speed of his Gulf Coast Claims Facility payments haven't lived up to his own expectations.

.../
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/09/justice_department_joins_call.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Plaquemines residents bombard oil spill claims staff with form letters asking for grocery money

Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 7:56 PM Updated: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 8:17 PM

David Hammer, The Times-Picayune


About half the households in Plaquemines Parish are using form letters, some provided by Parish Council members on official parish letterhead, to ask oil spill claims czar Kenneth Feinberg to cover their personal food costs -- and none include any documentation, Feinberg said.

Feinberg said his staff has received about 4,000 new claims from Plaquemines Parish residents using two photocopied forms. The first form letter requests compensation because "seafood production costs have increased and have caused undue hardships." The second form letter says the spill has prevented claimants from feeding their families with seafood they used to catch or get from relatives and neighbors.

The second set of claims contains "exactly the same Xeroxed paragraph, which says, 'Mr. Feinberg, I live off the sea. I eat fish every night for dinner. Now, there are no fish, so I have to go to the grocery store.

Please give me ...' fill in the blank, $1,800, $1,300, $1,900," he said.

"No grocery receipts, no documentation, just an allegation of subsistence loss," Feinberg said. "Four thousand claims where the claim form is exactly the same, including the misspelling. Outrageous! I can't pay those claims."
...
4,000 letters

• Read one of the form letters

.../
Full text:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/09/plaquemines_residents_inundate.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Oil spill claims administrator expects to reach agreement on 90 percent of legitimate filings

Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 8:00 AM


David Hammer, The Times-Picayune

At least 90 percent of people suffering legitimate economic damages as a result of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will accept a settlement under the independent administrative process overseen by Kenneth Feinberg, rather than filing lawsuits against BP or other responsible parties, Feinberg said Tuesday.

After a little over a month at the helm of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, the Boston lawyer appointed by President Barack Obama and paid by BP said he expects 80,000 to 90,000 private claims from businesses and individuals will be filed by the deadline of Nov. 23.

Nearly 75,000 applications have been filed already. And as Feinberg and his staff of 1,500 claims adjusters and about 25 final reviewers weed their way through them, Feinberg says he's fighting distrust, a misperception that he's acting in BP's interest and efforts by plaintiffs' lawyers to steer claimants away from his process and into litigation.

"I want to bring claimants around to the view that I am not an adversary. I am not BP," Feinberg said.

.../
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/09/oil_spill_claims_administrator_4.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Feinberg Firm Paid More Than $2.5 Million by BP in 3 1/2 Months

<cite class="byline">By Jim Snyder and Lizzie O’Leary -<script type="text/javascript">document.write(dateFormat(new Date(1286570327000),"mmm d, yyyy h:MM TT Z"));</script> Oct 8, 2010 3:38 PM CT </cite>

Kenneth Feinberg and his law firm have been paid more than $2.5 million in 3 1/2 months to administer the $20 billion fund set up by BP Plc to compensate victims of its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The London-based oil company agreed to pay Feinberg Rozen LLP in Washington a fee of $850,000 a month from mid-June, when Feinberg agreed to run the claims facility, through Oct. 1, according to a report today on the compensation by former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

Feinberg, 64, who ran the fund for victims of the 9/11 attacks and was special U.S. master for executive pay, was chosen by BP and President Barack Obama to compensate those affected by the largest U.S. oil spill.

more..

To contact the reporters on this story: Jim Snyder in Washington at jsnyder24@bloomberg.net; Lizzie O’Leary in Washington at loleary2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...e-than-2-5-million-by-bp-in-3-1-2-months.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Claims process yields mixed results for south Mississippians

Published: Sunday, December 12, 2010, 6:31 AM

Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press

Staff reports

Feelings about how the Kenneth Feinberg's Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which took over the claims process from BP in August, ranged from highly satisfied to angry and distrustful among south Mississippi claimants last week.

Casino workers, in particular, feel they have been slighted and have held several protests. One organizer said a claimant
in a casino restaurant received a check in excess of $21,000, while a worker within the same building -- but on the casino floor -- had her claim denied.

"That just doesn't make any sense," the organizer said. "Does Mr. Feinberg have something against casinos?"

Feinberg had consistently said that all claims are paid based on their own merits and ability to be proven with paperwork.

The facility has agreed to take a second look at casino claims, as Gulf States attorneys general and other officials push for greater access to records. Such access has virtually disappeared since Feinberg took over, critics say...

Read more:
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2010/12/claims_process_yields_mixed_re.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Ken Feinberg offers third option for Gulf oil spill claims payments

David Hammer, The Times-Picayune
Published: Monday, December 13, 2010, 12:03 PM Updated: Monday, December 13, 2010, 12:58 PM

Gulf oil spill claims czar Ken Feinberg introduced a new option to the 170,000 claimants who have already received an emergency payment, offering quick payments of $5,000 to individuals and $25,000 to businesses who are willing to sign away their rights to sue.

The "quick pay" option is a new, third option for claimants and could help clear the decks for more complicated claims. Feinberg's Gulf Coast Claims Facility is already offering final payments to cover all prior, current and future losses, an option that requires the claimant to sign away the right to sue BP and other defendants if he or she accepts the money. Another option is interim quarterly payments based on documented losses from the previous three months, which doesn't require any rights to be signed away.

Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/12/ken_feinberg_offers_third_opti.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Delacroix marina owners shocked at oil spill claims denial

by Bill Capo / Eyewitness News
wwltv.com
Posted on December 13, 2010 at 6:41 PM
<?xml:namespace prefix = fb /><fb:like class=" fb_edge_widget_with_comment fb_iframe_widget" width="130" layout="button_count" action="recommend" show_faces="false"></fb:like>

DELACROIX, La. -- Cindy Berry is hanging the Christmas decorations she just bought at Sweetwater Marina in Delacroix.

But after Ken Feinberg's claims group denied her emergency appeal for help, she is not feeling the Christmas spirit. She's worried about having to lay off employees.
...

"I screamed, I said denied? I said lady, I'm surrounded by water," said an astounded Berry. "I'm a marina! I'm a marina, I said how are we denied?"

Ken Feinberg's Gulf Coast Claims Facility has received 460,000 claims. Of that 160,000 have been approved, but so far, 230,000 have been denied -- including Payne and Berry's, and that means now they're struggling to pay their bills. Already this month, the insurance payment is late.

Full text:
http://www.wwltv.com/news/gulf-oil-...ed-At-Feinberg-Denial-111811409.html#comments

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Gulf spill fund czar paying for ethics advice
(AP) ? 2 days ago

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? BP money is being used to pay $950 an hour to a law professor who has declared the administrator of the $20 billion claims fund for Gulf oil spill victims independent of the oil giant.

Fund czar Ken Feinberg said Thursday he has agreed to pay New York University professor Stephen Gillers for his advice. Since being hired, Gillers has written a letter stating that Feinberg is neutral and not subject to BP's direction or control.

Feinberg said the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, created to administer payments from the fund to people and businesses, is billing BP for Gillers' services.

Some victims, lawyers and state officials unhappy with the claims process have questioned Feinberg's independence and suggested he is a pawn in a BP effort to limit its liability.

A statement Thursday from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility said Feinberg asked Gillers for advice about a Nov. 24 letter from Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell questioning the independence of the fund and Feinberg's role as the independent administrator.

In a letter to Feinberg, Gillers wrote: "You are not in an attorney-client relationship with BP. You are an independent administrator and owe none of the attributes of the attorney-client relationship (e.g., loyalty, confidentiality) to BP. By 'independent' I mean (and I think the context is clear) that you are independent of BP. You are not subject to its direction or control."


More...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...fptEgQ?docId=cdacd2d4a6484ec695640948bace0e3d

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

<CITE>Feinberg Says Half of $20 Billion BP Fund Should Cover Claims

January 01, 2011, 3:18 PM EST</CITE>
<CITE></CITE>
<CITE>By Jim Snyder and Carol Massar</CITE>
Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP Plc?s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said he anticipates about half the $20 billion fund set up by the company should be adequate to cover claims for economic losses.

Feinberg said on Bloomberg Television yesterday that it is too early to project how much of the fund will be needed to pay individuals and businesses. He said $10 billion may be enough to compensate victims.

?It remains to be seen, but I would hope that half that money would be more than enough to pay all the claims,? Feinberg said.

More...
http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...f-20-billion-bp-fund-should-cover-claims.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

BP claims chief to get "walking papers" petition Monday

<!-- MAIN PHOTO --><!-- BYLINE -->By John DeSantis

Published: Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 2:18 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 2:18 p.m.
( page all of 3 )

THIBODAUX ? Oil spill claims chief Ken Feinberg will get less-than-welcoming messages from people in Grand Isle and other communities that he visits Monday.

<!-- GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--><!-- /GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT-->
Fishermen and other people living on Louisiana?s only inhabited barrier island plan to present him with copies of a petition they have circulated through Facebook and other online sites asking the he be dismissed for alleged failure to carry out his duties appropriately.

Read more:
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20110109/HURBLOG/110109482/1223?p=all&tc=pgall

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Kenneth Feinberg tells frustrated crowd in Jean Lafitte that Gulf Coast Claims Facility is doing its best

Published: Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 5:54 PM
Updated: Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 6:15 PM

By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune

About 300 fishers who jam-packed a Jean Lafitte civic center on Tuesday jumped on Gulf oil-spill claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg at every turn of the hour-long question-and-answer session.

A seasoned arbitrator, Feinberg responded at times with dry humor - "Don't hold back now" - at times with surprising directness - "Now, that's a valid claim" - and often with the catch-all phrase "I'll check into it."

One of about a dozen questioners, a frustrated Diane Poche of Lafitte, approached within a foot of Feinberg's podium, holding paperwork in one hand and waving the other as she asked Feinberg why she'd received "zero payments" so far and her husband had only garnered $13,000.

The two created quite a contrast: Poche in her blue sweatpants, black sweatshirt and white sneakers, and Feinberg in his blue suit, tie, cufflinks and Kennedy-esque brogue. His unmistakable Massachusetts accent pierced through the crowd's constant murmur in short assertive bursts that often remained indirect, painting in broad swaths and often stating that he couldn't respond to individual claims directly.

Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/01/kenneth_feinberg_tells_frustra.html

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Feinberg, BP Discussing Compensation for Running Claims Facility

<CITE class=byline>By Jim Snyder -<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>document.write(dateFormat(new Date(1295395715000),"mmm d, yyyy h:MM TT Z"));</SCRIPT> Jan 18, 2011 6:08 PM CT <NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></CITE>

Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of the $20 billion claims fund for victims of the BP Plc oil spill, is negotiating with the company on his compensation, his spokeswoman said today.

Feinberg Rozen LLP, a Washington-based law firm, has been paid $850,000 a month since mid-June, when Feinberg agreed to run the claims facility that is paying victims of the largest U.S. oil spill.

Amy Weiss, a spokeswoman for the claims fund administrator, said in an e-mail that Feinberg is in discussions because the monthly fee arrangement expires this month. She didn?t provide additional details.

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility has paid out more than $3.25 billion in claims to more than 168,000 people and businesses, according to its website.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jim Snyder in Washington at jsnyder24@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...compensation-for-running-claims-facility.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Tuesday, January 25, 2011Last Update: 10:50 AM PT


Feinberg's Independence From BP Questioned

By SABRINA CANFIELD

NEW ORLEANS (CN) - A legal expert says aspects of BP's oil spill compensation fund made through its Gulf Coast Claims Center "do not comport with the usual standards for transparency and fairness." Kenneth Feinberg's law firm receives $850,000 a month while Feinberg oversees claims for BP. Tulane law professor Edward Sherman was hired by plaintiff counsel to determine whether the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is meeting expectations.

Sherman made the statement in a 5-page declaration submitted to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is hearing the consolidated complaints stemming from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.

Sherman wrote that a claims center should be established with standards of "independence, neutrality, and experience," should adhere to judicial supervision, and should be transparent about where its funding comes from.

Claimants should be told Feinberg was hired by and is paid through BP, Sherman wrote. He says this would help claimants determine for themselves whether Feinberg's statement that claimants are better off not litigating may be influenced by Feinberg's contract with BP.

More...
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/01/25/33591.htm

 

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Re: BP agrees $20 billion spill claims fund - not a cap

Oil spill fund administrator to face more questions from Congress

Published: Monday, January 24, 2011, 6:43 PM Updated: Monday, January 24, 2011, 7:18 PM

Kenneth Feinberg knew when he agreed to serve as administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, in charge of sorting out the claims of those adversely affected by the BP oil spill, that he would be occupying a hot seat.

On Thursday, seven months after he took the job, Feinberg will be back on Capitol Hill to answer what will undoubtedly be some aggressive questioning about his tenure from the Senate Homeland Security Committee's Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery, chaired by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

More...
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/01/oil_spill_fund_administrator_t.html