[StBernard] Gulf Coast Claims Facility will not deduct Vessel of Opportunity earnings from claims payments

[Westley Annis]

Gulf Coast Claims Facility will not deduct Vessel of Opportunity earnings
from claims payments

 

According to an important notice released on the Gulf Coast Claims Facility
website, it has been determined that earnings made as a result of
participation in the Vessels of Opportunity program will not be deducted
from payments made to claimants. The VOO program was made available to
commercial fishermen affected by the MC252 oil disaster, most of whom were
not able to fish due to fishing closures and lack of demand for seafood. It
was uncertain for some time whether the money earned in the VOO program
would be deducted from a participant's claims payment. The new determination
to not deduct these earnings is a step in the right direction for these
claimants.

 

Prior to the BP claims process transitioning to the Gulf Coast Claims
Facility under the supervision of Ken Feinberg, Feinberg announced that
there would be a 48-hour claim determination rule for individual claims and
a 7-day claim determination rule for business claims. The GCCF is now
stating that documentation submitted by individuals and business claimants
has been, ".voluminous and complex and requires careful scrutiny and
attention to assure that each claimant will be afforded the benefit of the
most generous payment determination as supported by documentation." They say
that the 48-hour and 7-day claimant determination rules will be extended as
necessary and appropriate. 

 

Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. and the Parish council have been
challenging the idea of deducting earnings even before Ken Feinberg took
over. 

 

"We are grateful now that Mr. Feinberg has resolved that issue," Taffaro
said.

 

It has also been determined that some payments made to claimants for lost
income and lost profits may not have been sufficient. The GCCF has reviewed
these payments and have made adjustments as appropriate in some cases.
Supplemental checks for these claimants will be mailed within the next few
weeks. Claimants may call the toll-free GCCF hotline at 1-800-916-4893 to
inquire about possible supplemental checks.

 

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