Oil Claimants Face Burden of Proof
Companies across the country are patiently awaiting answers to their petitions for compensation following profit declines due to the BP oil spill. A flower shop in Florida felt the effects due to a decrease in weddings over the summer, while an Idaho restaurant was forced to change seafood suppliers, and a hardware store in Mississippi had work crews along the Gulf coast interfere with their business hours.
Unfortunately, a new set of rules are rumored to be in the mix this fall as BP pays victim claims that may leave some of these companies without compensation. The guidelines for dispensation of the $20 billion fund give priority to those businesses and individuals with the closest proximity to the Gulf. The reasoning behind this decision is that dependence upon the natural resources of the Gulf seems most directly linked to distance from the coast itself. Claimants who accept compensation for long-term losses will have to waive their right to sue BP and other spill-related companies in order to receive payment.
Lawyer Kenneth Feinberg will be handling all claims, starting this week. Claims must demonstrate that losses were due to the oil spill and not simply caused by the recession. Feinberg will use his expertise with handling 9/11 victim claims to sort through the BP claims. He made a statement at a town meeting recently explaining that he’ll be reading claims with a few questions in mind: “How close are you to the Gulf? That’s a major factor. How dependent are you, as an individual or a business, on the resources of the Gulf?”
Flower shop owner, Susan Mitchell, operates out of Pensacola Beach, Florida, where tar balls washed up onto the sand. Her profits are $4,000 lower than July last year. She accounts the drop in business to fewer beach weddings and florist-worthy celebrations at the beach. Mitchell and others find the geographic lines to be arbitrary.
Claims are being accepted from now until November 23rd, and emergency funds can be expected within 24 hours. The American Association for Justice appreciates the improved timeline over the previous BP process for repayment, but lawyers are protesting the fact that long-term settlements will only come with a waiver of legal rights to pursuit a full lawsuit. “BP is trying to cut off damages. They realize that small payments will be grabbed by some, and then in the future they will have no access to justice,” explained lawyer Jere Beasley.
Settlements through the victim compensation fund may appeal to some since lawsuits can take years in court, and lawyer fees will cut into any awarded money. That being said, the list of lawsuits filed against BP already exceeds 300 as of last week.