BP Oil Spill Law Blog

As of December 9, 2011

Total Claims/Claimants:

• Total GCCF claimants: 565,515
• Total claims submitted to GCCF: 1,032,545
• Total amount paid so far $ 5,781,038,077.28

Quick Payments:

• 128,780 Quick Pay claimants have filed claims.
• 126,633 of these have received payments.
• A total of $ 1,285,535,000 has been paid in Quick Pay claims so far.

Full Review Final Payments:

• 85,252 Full Review Final Payment offers have been made with the majority made to individuals.

• 67,393 Full Review Final Payment offers have been accepted.

Individual Claimants By Amount Category:

• 64.38% of individual claimants have been paid between $0.01 - $5,000
• 18.59% of individual claimants have been paid $5,000.01 - $10,000
• About 14% of individual claimants have been paid $10.000.01-$25,000
• Less than 3% of individual claimants have received over $25,000.01
• 388,438 claims have been filed under "Lost Earnings or Profits" category. By category, this represents the largest number of claims.

Claims by Industry/State:

Number of individual claims paid by industry:

1. Food, Beverage, and Lodging: 52.12%
2. Retail, Sales, and Service: 29.24%
3. Multiple Industry/Business Types: 7.17%
4. Fishing: 4.14%
5. Seafood Processing & Distribution: 3.37%
6. Tourism: 2.38%
7. Rental Properties: 1.49%

Number of business claims paid by industry (top 5)

1.Retail, Sales, and Service: 32.5%
2.Rental Properties: 26.61%
3.Fishing: 16.83%
4.Food, Beverage, and Lodging: 9.74%
5.Multiple Industry/Business Types: 5.41%

Claims by state of residence (top 3):

Louisiana: 370,625 filed claims with 120,286 of these paid
Florida: 350,796 filed claims with 158,324 paid
Alabama: 139,405 filed claims with 53,458 paid

Source:

http://www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com/GCCF_Overall_Status_Report.pdf

A new decision from Kenneth Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) will double the payments shrimpers and crabbers affected by the April 2010 BP oil spill receive. Previously, all legitimate claims were paid twice their documented 2010 losses with the exception of oyster and leaseholders who are eligible for increased payments. Shrimpers and crabbers have criticized Feinberg's compensation methodology, arguing that the formula did not reflect the uncertainties and economic loss affecting the industries.

"The GCCF recognizes the ongoing uncertainty regarding the state of the commercial harvesting of shrimp and crab in the Gulf and the uncertainty of any ongoing impact from the spill," states the new methodology. "As a result of this uncertainty, the GCCF has adjusted its methodology for compensation to commercial shrimp and crab harvesters and processors to include additional compensation."

Shrimp and crab harvesters will now be compensated at four times their documented 2010 losses. The new methodology will apply to shrimpers and crabbers with open claims under GCCF review as well as new claims filed since the November 30th announcement.

The GCCF has received many claims from part-time or recreational shrimpers and crabbers. Feinberg's new methodology will require increased documentation to ensure claims are paid to true commercial shrimpers and crabbers.

Representative Cedric Richmond of New Orleans backs Feinberg's new four-times methodology but called for Feinberg to consider applying the new formula to the final payments already made to some 4,000 Gulf Coast shrimpers and crabbers under the two-times-2010-loss formula. Feinberg stated he would consider the proposal.

BP has put pressure on Feinberg to wrap up the claims process and limit payments. So far, approximately $5.7 billion has been paid to over 215,000 claimants since the 2010 spill.

More information:
The modified methodology for shrimpers and crabbers is available at
http://www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com/METHODOLOGYC_11302011_v2.pdf