The $ 20 billion BP oil spill fund was made accessible Monday when BP and the Justice Department finished all their negotiations. $ 3 billion in the fund go directly towards oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 victims. The fund was set up after BP and Obama met and discussed the situation on June 16. So far, BP said its oil spill costs have totaled $ 6.1 billion, including $ 319 million paid out in BP oil spill claims. But more than 100,000 individuals are nevertheless waiting to hear about their claims. And the lawyers still aren’t certain how the fund will work.
Oil spill fund schedule better off than expected
By the time September is over, BP is supposed to have the deposit put into the BP oil spill fund. BP is showing a strong commitment to “making it right in the gulf” by getting ahead of schedule on the deposits, as outlined by Bloomberg who spoke with Robert Dudley who will replace on October 1, Tony Hayward. When president Obama announced the BP oil spill fund in June, he said its creation doesn’t limit BP’s liability for cleanup costs and economic damage, and it doesn’t supersede the rights of individuals or states to sue the company. $ 5 billion can be put within the fund every year for the next four years. In the fourth quarter of each year, $ 2 billion more will need to be paid with a BP deposit of $ 1.25 billion per quarter until having reached $ 20 billion.
BP claims process having a hard time being fulfilled
Checks from the BP oil spill fund can be cashed for free at New Orleans-based Whitney National Bank, which has 160 branches along the Gulf Coast. Kenneth Feinberg, the government-appointed administrator of the fund, said a BP oil claims facility should be in operation this month.
BP said that 145,000 oil spill claims had been filed through Aug. 7. It has paid 103,900 claims worth $ 319 million. NPR reports the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has numerous coastal residents fighting for their economic survival, and they expect BP to keep them afloat. 100,000 individuals still want their claims to be filled. People think the BP claims process was made to make it harder to get claims fulfilled. Some companies have given up on BP altogether and say they’ll wait until Feinberg takes over the BP oil spill fund later this month.
BP oil spill fund with no information
Even though everyone knows about the BP oil spill fund, hardly anyone knows how to access it. The Legal Broadcast Network (LBN) reports that very few lawyers or clients have any clue as to how the BP oil spill fund is going to work or if it makes sense to participate. Lawyers handling oil spill claims wonder about the ability of their clients to structure oil claim payments over time to cut back the tax hit. It also seems to be a problem the oil spill claims being fulfilled have legal fees that aren’t tax deductible. LBN said these questions remain to be answered, or even asked, of the individuals running the fund.
Bloomberg
bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-09/bp-20-billion-oil-spill-compensation-fund-agreement-completed-with-u-s-.html
NPR
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129074745
Legal Broadcast Network
thelegalbroadcastnetwork.squarespace.com/the-lbn-blog/2010/8/9/the-bp-oil-spill-compensation-fund-what-is-next-ken-feinberg.html
