A Vietnamese American Voluntary LAW CORP Points Out The Following Eleven Issues It Has With the BP Oil Spill Draft Protocol:
- The GCCF steps into the shoes of BP, and therefore its claims procedure must meet all applicable requirements of the OPA.
- Under the OPA, the 90-day period for BP to honor a claim began to run when a claimant first submitted its claim to BP, and cannot reset by the GCCF.
- As an agent of BP, the GCCF is not in a position to advise a potential claimant whether or not to file a claim.
- A claimant is entitled under the OPA to make a claim for a sum certain, and any acceptance for a lesser amount does not preclude the claimant from pursuing future recovery for unrecovered amounts with the NPFC or through litigation.
- The requirement that a claimant sign a general release of all rights and claims the claimant may have is contrary to the OPA.
- The Draft Protocol's absolute limitations period is inconsistent with the OPA's limitations period, which incorporates the "discovery rule."
- Advance Emergency Payments under the Draft Protocol do not equate to Interim Payments under the OPA, which allows a claimant to make successive Interim Claims.
- A claimant is not required to make non-OPA claims to the GCCF, and settlement of OPA claims have no preclusive effect on non-OPA claims.
- Under the OPA, a claimant is entitled to interest on late paid claims.
- The OPA is a strict liability statute that does not require that a claimant show "proximate cause" in order to recover damages.
- The OPA allows a claimant to submit non-traditional alternative documentation to prove a claim.
Source:
Vietnamese American Voluntary Law Corps Problems With BP Oil Spill Protocol.pdf
