Maryland Injury Lawyers Blog

If you suffered economic losses or property damage as a result of the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill you need to make yourself aware of the the details of the recent class action settlements, as the deadline to opt out of the settlement is October 1, 2012. The settlements are complicated and there are numerous deadlines to be aware of. It is a good idea to hire a lawyer to help with your claim---and most lawyers do not charge a fee or costs unless there is a recovery in the case (you will not have to pay the lawyer until the end of the case). Here are some important details:

1. Even if your claim was denied by the GCCF you still may have a valid claim under the class action settlement. In other words, if you or your business suffered economic losses as a result of the Gulf Oil Spill, you should strongly consider participating in the class action settlement and submitting a timely claim form.

2. Claim Forms will be available June 4, 2012, and claims can be submitted right away. Payments will be made on a rolling basis. That means that the sooner your claim is submitted, the sooner you will be paid.

3. The deadline for submitting claims under the settlement depends on whether you have a claim in the "Seafood Compensation Program" (e.g. commercial fishermen, deckhands, oystermen, shrimpers, etc.). For Seafood Compensation Program Claims, the deadline to submit the claim will be 30 days after the Court grants final approval to the settlement. We do not yet know when this will happen---but it will likely be shortly after the "fairness hearing" that is scheduled for November 8, 2012.

For economic loss and property damage claims that are not involved in the Seafood Compensation Program the deadline for submitting claims is April 22, 2014 or six months after the Settlement becomes effective (after final court approval and any appeals are resolved), whichever date is later.

4. For some potential claimants who are members of the class, it may be beneficial to "opt out" of the Gulf Oil Spill Settlement. To Opt out of the BP Settlement you must mail your written request to Opt Out stating "I wish to be excluded from the Economic & Property Damages Class" by October 1, 2012 to Deepwater Horizon Court-Supervised Settlement, Exclusions Department, PO Box 222, Hammond, LA 70404-0222. You cannot opt out by phone, email or on the website. If you choose to opt out of the economic class action BP Settlement you must opt out for all claims you have. Opting out is an important decision that each individual/business needs to make carefully and with a full understanding of the consequences. An attorney can be very helpful in this regard.

5. A great resource of information about the Gulf Oil Spill settlement with BP is the court notice of settlement.pdf

6. The Court recently issued a court notice of settlement.pdf to potential class members explaining their options and providing information about the settlement. The notice packet also contained Zone Maps 5.20.12.pdf for the impacted areas (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida). The Court has indicated that if potential claimants have questions they can go to deepwaterhorizonsettlements.com or call 1-866-992-6174.

Another good resource for information about the settlement is on our website.

The BP Gulf Oil Spill Settlement for those directly involved in the harvesting of seafood is complicated. There are a lot of rumors floating around the fishing communities in Louisiana and elsewhere and it is important that those involved in the Gulf Seafood industry understand the facts when it comes to this settlement. HEre are some of the things that you should know:

1. $2.3 Billion Dollars has been set aside to compensate seafood crew, oyster lease holders, boat captains, and commercial fishermen for losses suffered as a result of the Gulf Oil Spill.

2. The categories of compensation are: (i) Shrimp, (ii) Oysters, (iii) Finfish, (iv) Blue Crab/Other Seafood and (v) Seafood Crew. Under each category there are various compensable claims. For example, under "Oysters" a separate claim can be made for oyster leaseholder interest, oyster leaseholder lost income, oyster vessel owner claims, and oyster boat captain claims.

3. This is very important: Seafood Compensation Program Participants must file a single sworn claim form seeking compensation for all claims. You cannot make multiple claims under the seafood compensation program.

4. The Seafood Compensation Program under the authority of the Court and Neutral John W. Perry, Jr.

5. For all participants of the Seafood Compensation Program there will not be an offset for compensation received in connection with the Vessel of Opportunity Program (VOO Program).

6. DEADLINE: The Seafood Program Claim Form must be submitted no later than 30 days from the date that the Court enters its Final Order and Judgment.

7. Claimants who make a claim under the Seafood Program may also make a claim a separate claim for compensation under the Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement.

8. A friendly warning---the formulas for compensation under the Seafood Compensation Program are quite complicated. The Seafood Compensation Program is set forth in detail in Exhibit 10 to the Settlement Agreement and it is about 85 pages long. It is my opinion that it is a very good idea to consult with an attorney and/or accountant for the preparation of your claim.

9. Generally speaking, Charter Boat Operators will not be eligible for compensation through the Seafood Compensation Program. Their claims for economic loss would be made outside of this separate funded program. HOwever, if a Charter Boat Operator also is a commercial fishman and earns money off shrimp or oyster, then he could make a claim under the Seafood Program for those losses.

10. Shrimp Boat Captains/Shrimp Vessel Owners can choose anyone of four methods to be compensated (Expedited, Reduced Expedited, New Entrant or Historical Revenue Method). Under the Expedited Compensation Method--Qualifying Shrimp Vessel Boat Owners/Lesees will receive between $104,063.00 and $582,750 depending on the size of their ship. (these amounts include the risk transfer premium of 8.25). Qualifying Shrimp boat captains will receive between $92,813 and $288,750.00 depending on vessel size under the expedited Compensation Method for Shrimpers.

11. Oyster lease holders can make two types of claims. Leaseholder Interest Compensation and Leaseholder lost income compensation. Oyster Harvesters can make a claim for "Historical Revenue Comensation." Eligible oyster leaseholders will receive either $2,000 per acre, $1,000 per acre or $400.00 per acre depending on whether they are in Zone A, Zone B, or Zone C. The formulas used to calculate Oyster Leaseholder Lost Income is complicated in that it looks at benchmark revenue, then adjusts for change in the 2010-2011 season, then uses an oyster loss percentage of 40% and multiplies by a Risk Transfer Premium of 8.75. Final Compensation is hte base compensation amount plus the base compensation amount mutiplied by 8.75.

For more information about the Gulf Oil Spill Settlement and how much compensation you can get visit our website.

If your business suffered losses as a result of the 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill, and your claim was submitted to the GCCF and they denied your claim, DON'T GIVE UP! The recent settlement between BP and the Plaintiff Steering Committee will allow many businesses that have not received compensation to finally be compensated for their losses. Whereas the GCCF found that many claimed business losses were not the result of the Gulf Oil Spill, the Court Supervised Settlement Process would likely find many of these previously denied Gulf Oil SPill claims compensable. That said, it is upon YOU---THE BUSINESS OWNER or individual who suffered losses to be sure that you apply to the new Court Supervised Settlement Process.

I am not suggesting that everyone who submits a claim will be paid. But I can tell you that there is a lot more flexibility under the new rules in terms of proving that a particular loss was the result of the spill than there was under the GCCF Rules. The documentation requirements and formulas used are a bit complicated and it is a very good idea to consult with a lawyer to be sure that your claim is properly documented and that the appropriate arguments for establishing legal causation are established. A lawyer can also be very helpful in evaluating your BP Claim to determine whether opting out of the global settlement is a viable option or not.

For more information about the Gulf Oil Spill Settlement with BP visit the Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester Webiste.

The recent settlement between BP and the Plaintiffs Steering Committee is great news for those who have been struggling to get their claims paid through the GCCF. The settlement is not perfect, but all in all it is a good deal for the plaintiffs and it will do the most good for the greatest number of people. It is also important to keep in mind that this is the first settlement and there will likely be other settlements with Haliburton, Transocean and others. Some important points about the settlement are:

1. Settlement is uncapped. The only exception is that $2.3 Billion Dollars has been earmarked for the "Seafood Program" for compensation for commercial fishing industry, fishing vessel owners and deckhands.

2. Most qualified candidates will receive higher settlement offers through this settlement than they would have received from the GCCF.

3. There are technically two class action settlements: One for Economic and Property Damages and one class for Medical Injuries.

4. There will be a 6-8 week transition period, and then the GCCF will be closed down and the court supervised Settlement Claims Program will begin.

5. A $57 Million dollar marketing fund has been established to promote tourism and Gulf Seafood.

6. Offsets and amounts already received from BP/GCCF will be deducted after the enhahcement for potential future damages.

7. Each claimant who is a potential class member can choose to opt out of the settlement and pursue their claim in court.

8. Those with GCCF Final Payment offers that have not expired can receive 60% of the offered amount without signing a release (this is GREAT NEWS). This means that all outstanding non-expired GCCF offers are protected but claimants can receive the benefit of the new settlement.

9. More businesses and individuals will be compensated through this settlement program than through the GCCF. For example categories of damages not covered by the GCCF that will be compensated include (i) Loss of Use and Enjoyment of Real Property, (ii) property damage caused by oil spill clean up activity, (iii) losses from sale of real property in coastal regions, and (iv) oil and clean up related damage to real property in wetlands areas.

10. There will be more flexibility in choosing how damages are calculated. Claimants can generally choose to use 2009, or an average of 2008 and 2009 or an average of 2007, 2008 and 2009. Claimants can then choose any 3 or more consecutive months of 2010 (May-December) as their loss period. Unlike the GCCF pre-spill growth trends will also be considered.

11. There will be a Risk Transfer Premium (RTP) paid to account for factors unique to each claim type.

12. The Medical Oil Spill Settlement will provide lots of funding for needed medical and mental health services in Gulf Coast communities.

13. Medical Compensation will be paid for specified medical conditions, periodic medical consultations (for 21 years), back end litigation option for later manifested illness, and $105 Million Gulf Coast Region Health Outreach Program.

14. For certain clean up workers and some other coastal residents no poroof of medical treatment will be required.

15. Covered symptoms include certain respiratory injuries, eye injuries, skin, gastrointestinal, and neurological conditions. Even heat strokes will be compensated.

16. Those with oil or dispersant related illnesses that manifest in the future can sue BP without proof of fault (but punitive damages are waived as part of the settlement).

17. The GCCF Quick Pay Option will expire on May 7, 2012.

18. On March 8, 2012 Judge Barbier issued an Order Creating a Transition Process. transition.pdf

For more information about your Gulf Oil Spill claim visit gfmjustice.com

We are pleased to report that late last night, less than 72 hours before the trial was scheduled to begin, the Plaintiff Steering Committee in the BP Gulf Oil Spill Litigation announced a settlement with BP. This settlement should fully compensate hundreds of thousands of victims of the Deepwater Horizon explosion which occurred in April 2010. It will also provide a $105 Million Dollar Grant to fund the first 5 years of a Gulf Coast Region Health Outreach Program to promote physical, mental, and behavioural health in the Gulf Region. The program encompasses primary care, behavioral/mental health, health worker training, environmental health and Library/Administration elements. There is no cap on the amount that BP will pay. This is important because the oil spill has impacted all aspects of fishing communities in the Gulf States.

Two separate settlements were reached with BP. The first will pay private economic loss claims due to the Gulf Oil Spill and will include claims for commercial fishermen, oystermen, real properly losses, and vessel of opportunity breach of contract claims. The second settlement invovles claims related to medical injuries from the spill and provides for medical monitoring over hte next two decades (21 years to be exact). Claimants can particiate in either or both settlement programs. It is anticipated that the level of proof required to participate in these settlements will be lower than the levels of proof required by the GCCF. Therefore, if you had a claim that was denied by the GCCF you should contact an attorrey about possibly making a claim under these new settlement terms. The settlement's intent is to be inclusive of all persons and businesses damaged by the oil spill.Unlike the GCCF's rigid formulas, each claimant will be able to choose the months used to measure lost income or profits based on historical earnings; and there will be compensation paid for lost growth potential (known as a Risk Transfer PRemium or "RTP") Multiplier. The specific Risk Transfer Premium Multiplier will depend on the location and nature of the claimant's business.

If you are interested in participating in the settlement contact us at 888-213-8140.

A press release about the Gulf Oil Spill Settlement is attached.
Final Press Release BP Settlement 3-2-2012.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions about the Medical Settlement and for more information about the Gulf Coast Region HEalth Outreach Program, click here:

Medical Settlement FAQ 3-2-2012 (2).pdf

Anyone who worked in the Vessel of Opportunity program in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill in Louisiana, Mississippi or elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, is likely entited to damages. BP and its contractors (including U.S. Maritime Serivces) in many cases, failed to pay vessel owners for all of the time and days owed under the Master Vessel Charter Agreements (MVCA) signed with the boat Captains. The contracts provide that payment is due from the time the boat is under charter until the time that the boat is decontaminated. If you were only paid for the days that you actually worked, then you were underpaid and you are likely owed money. The boats involved in the clean-up--once they were contaminated with oil, could not be used for any other purpose such as fishing, or charter boating (because the boats were exposed to oil). It is for this reason that the boats are under charter until they are decontaminated. Some of the boats used in the VOO cleanup were actually damaged, and BP still has not paid for the damage to these boats.

A lawsuit has been filed in New Orleans, Louisiana on behalf of Lester Ansardi who is a vessel owner from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. The lawsuit can be seen here ansardi cpkt.pdf . What is unique about this Gulf Oil Spill Vessel of Opportunity Lawsuit is that it is filed in State Court (Orleans Parish, Louisiana) and not in federal court. Since BP is not a defendant in this lawsuit, it is unlikely that the case will be removed to the Federal MDL Proceeding in US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The people who worked in the Vessel of Opportunity Program in the aftermath of the oil spill are heroes. They basically put their health at risk in order to help clean up BP's mess. They also put their boats at risk---which it is important to understand--is the key to most of these people's livelihood. It is, quite frankly, outrageous that these subcontractors have not pay these fishermen the money they are owed. Our law firm works with Finckbeiner & Robin out of Chalmette Louisiana on these matters and is committed to fight hard to get these vessel owners and their crew the money they deserve.

On Friday September 30, 2011 there was a very important ruling from Judge Barbier--the presiding Judge in the Federal Gulf Oil SPill MDL. The Federal Court ruled that those who were exposed to the oil or the dispersant in the FGulf of Mexico can assert a claim for "medical monitoring costs." However this does not mean that everyone has a medical monitoring costs claim. The Court explained that A claimant would have to have a symptom or direct exposure. For example if a person had a headache, nausea or vomiting after smelling the fumes of the oil or the dispersant, then that person would have a valid medical monitoring costs claim. Then Judge Barbier went on to say:

The B3 Master Complaint alleges that Plaintiffs physically contacted and/or inhaled fumes from oil and dispersants. At least some of the Plaintiffs are alleged to have suffered headaches, nausea, vomiting, respiratory problems, rashes, lesions, chemical burns, etc...Therefore, Plaintiffs who allegedly suffered these affects have sufficiently pled an "injury" giving rise to a cause of action. Moreover, these Plaintiffs who have pled an injury may be entitled to medical monitoring as an element of their damages."

If you, or someone you know believes that they were exposed to oil or dispersant, you should contact a Gulf Oil Spill attorney to discuss your options. Our firm is working with the Louisiana Law Firm of Finckbeiner & Robin on these cases and we are happy to speak with you for fee. Contact us at 888-213-8140 for a free telephone consultation. If we end up taking your case, there will be no attorney fee unless there is a recovery.

If you would like a copy of this most recent Memorandum Opinion email me at kgoldberg@gfmlawllc.com and I will email a copy of the opinion to you.

A scary new report was just released indicating that there are 5 known cancer causing chemicals in the dispersant that BP chose to use to cleanup (well--actuall just hide) the oil after the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The report can be foundOil Dispersants Report[1].pdf This report is based on information released from the EPA pursuant to Freedom of Information Act requests. The report also found taht there are 33 chemicals assocaites with skin irritations, rashes and burns, 10 chemicals suspected kidney toxins, and 11 chemicals are suspected to cause respiratory problems. The report also discusses the fact that

The dispersant chemicals linked to cancer that residents of the Gulf States may have been exposed to include Amides, coco, Cyclohexene 1-methyl-4, Ethanol, 2-butoxy and Petroleum distillates. For more information about the imapact of these possible carcinogens on humans and on marine life click here click here.

We represent many fishermen, oystermen, shrimpers and small business owners from St. Bernard Parish Louisiana with the law firm of Finckbeiner & Robin. Many of our clients are reporting that there is a huge decrease in the amount of white shrimp, and other abnormalities in marine life.

A few months ago I attended a Toxicology Symposium in Washington, D.C. and there was a presentation on the toxic impact of the combination of oil and dispersant on Gulf residents. The scientific conclusion was basically that the combination of dispersant and oil is much more toxic and dangerous than just oil alone. Professor C. Mitchelmare had done studies on this and in a nutshell, she determined that the long term consequences of dispersant exposure include decreased growth, that oil/dispersant combination is indeed more toxic than just oil alone, and that there will likely be long term consequences to BP's decision to use dispersant on the oil.

Just yesterday Judge Barbier, the Federal Judge overseeing the Gulf Oil Spill Litigation MDL, denied most of the Defendants motion to dismiss. The order applies to all private party plaintiffs (not to governments) who are claiming economic losses because of the spill. I believe that this will be seen as a victory for the plaintiffs in this litigation. A copy of the Memorandum Opinion is attached hereto for those interested in reading it.Order Motion Dismiss B1.pdf

First of all it is important to understand that a Motion to Dismiss tests the legal sufficiency of the Lawsuit. The Court will accept all factual allegations made in the Complaint as true and must also draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor at the Motion to Dismiss stage.

For More information about the Gulf Oil Spill Case contact attorney Kevin I. Goldberg at 888-213-8140. Mr. Goldberg is representing claimants in conjunction with the law firm of Finckbeiner & Robin in Louisiana.

First the Judge Ruled that Maritime Law applies to this case because the explosion and oil leak occurred in the outer continental shelf on hte high seas. The Court ruled that the Deep Water Horizon and the Blow Out Preventer extending to the ocean floor was, in its entirety, a "Vessel" It should be noted that the only Defendant that argued it was not a "vessel" was Cameron. The Court simply did not buy into Cameron's argument.

The only portion of the opinion that went against hte plaintiffs is the fact that plaintiffs state law claims for negligence, trespass and fraudulent concealment were dismissed (see p.8 of hte opinion). The Court ruled that since maritime law applied, state law claims were preempted. The Plaintiffs argued that the state law claims could supplement maritime law claims. Simply stated, the Court rejected the plaintiff's argument.

The Defendants including BP, Transocean, Haliburton and others asked the COurt to dismiss all of the plaintiff's non-Oil Pollution Act Maritime law claims. The Court basically took a middle of the road approach and applied a well known and broadly applied rule known as Robins Dry Dock from a 1927 U.S. Supreme Court Case and dismissed all general maritime law claims except for those alleging a physical injury to propery/proprietary interest. The Robins Dry Dock Rule basically says that you cannot claim damages for purely economic losses unless you allege a physical injury to your property or proprietary interest (There is an exception for commerical fishermen that applies to the BP Litigation). The claims of Commercial FIshermen were not dismissed because Commercial FIshermen have always been an exception to the Robins Dry Dock Rule. A SIGNIGICAN WIN FOR THE PLAINTIFFS IS THAT THE COURT IS ALLOWING GENERAL MARITIME LAW CLAIMS OUTSIDE OF THE OIL POLLUTION ACT AGAINST NON RESPONSIBLE PARTIES FOR COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN AND OTHERS WITH A PHYSICAL IMPACT TO THEIR PROPERTY. General Maritime Law Claims against BP (The "Responsible Party Under the Oil Pollution Act) were dismissed however. The Court said " General Maritime Law Claims that existed before OPA may be brought directly against non-Responsible parties." (p.26).

Judge Barbier also specifically recognized that punitive damages under general maritime law will be permitted. This is another huge victory to the plaintiffs and will likely be a huge concern to the defendants who now have more exposure than they would have had if punitive damages were not permitted. THis is especially true because many insuance policies exclude punitive damages and these verdicts will have to be paid out of corporate bank accounts directly. The Court said "OPA does not displace general maritime law claims for those Plaintiffs who would have been able to bring such claims prior to OPA's enactment." Claims for Puntiive Damages, the Court went on to explain, can be made against responsible parties under OPA and non-responsible parties.

As expected the Court ruled that plaintiffs must make "Presentment" under the oil pollution act, but the Court did not dismiss those claims that had not yet made presentment. THe Court explained "The Court finds that Plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged presentment in their B1 Master Complaint, at least with respect to some Claimants." The Court chose not to engage in the process of sorting through thousands of individual claims to determine who has properly made presentment and who has not at this time. (Stay tuned though---this will be a significant issue down the road).

Another area considered a big win for hte plaintiffs is that the Oil Pollution Act claims for Vessel of Opportunity partificpants and those who lost their jobs due to the Moratorium were not dismissed. The Court recognized that the standard for causation is not "proximate cause" but rather a significantly lowered standard.

Judge Barbier also mentioned in the opinion that the February 2012 trial will indeed go forward in February 2012 (p. 31).

All in all, this opinion will bring clarification to all parties as to what claims relating to the Gulf Oil Spill are viable. It also shows that the MDL Court, run by Judge Barbier, is adamant and conscientious about moving this case forward, making rulings in a timely, fair manner, and most importantly, that the February 2012 trial date is pretty much set in stone.

We urge any business or individual to have a lawyer who understands how the GCCF operates review the Gulf Oil Spill GCCF Determination Letter before accepting or rejecting an offer. We have noticed that quite often the calculations done by GCCF accoutants are wrong and that many of those victimized by the Gulf Oil Spill are being short-changed. Not only are the calculations done by the GCCF sometimes wrong, but it is equally important to carefully review the "Methodology Used To Calculate Projected Revenues." A lawyer who understands how the GCCF operates can review your Determination Letter and may be able to get the GCCF to do a recalculation based on a methodology that is more favorable to the claimant. For example, if an oysterman or fisherman had a much better year in 2008 than in 2009 for some reason, then it would be more advantageous to have the methodology rely on just the 2008 numbers for comparison rather than an average of 2008 and 2009 or even just 2009 numbers. The GCCF has shown some flexibility in this regard and if a good argument can be made as to why a single years as opposed to an average of years should be used, many of the GCCF accountants will accomodate this request and do a recalculation. The methodology used by the GCCF can be found at the top of Attachment A of the GCCF Evaluation of Claim Form.

Another area to carefully focus on is the Loss of Income Percentage (LOI %). We have noticed that the GCCF is making a lot of errors in calculating the LOI % and this is something that can have a huge impact on a victim of the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill's claim value (Not just the Final Payment Claim Amount, but also the Interim Payment Claim). In order to make proper arguments to the GCCF in order to get the Loss of Income Percentage recalculated it is important to understand what this percentage is. It is meant to reflect the amount of saved expenses, and therefore is the percentage of revenue that represents saved costs that were not incurred due to the spill.

If you received a Final Determination Letter from the GCCF it is important to take note of the expiration date of the FInal Payment Offer. This can be found on the GCCF Form 1012 which is the Election Form For Determination Letter On Lost Profits Claim.

Our team is available to discuss your determination letter at no cost to you. Call us at 888-213-8140 or email Kevin Goldberg at kgoldberg@gfmlawllc.com. Remember that the GCCF is basically "BP" and you need to be careful when dealing with them directly.

Our Law Firm continues to represent individuals, small businesses, fishermen and oystermen with losses as a result of the Gulf Oil Spill. We represent claimants before the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and also in Court Proceedings in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Today an important filing was made---Doc 3423 Supplemental Memorandum filed by Plaintiff in In Support of 912 MOTION Supervise Ex Parte Communications with Putative Class (2).pdf In this filing efforts are made to bring to the attention of Judge Barbier the unfairness of how BP has handled the Interim Payment Process. In a nutshell, the brief establishes that the GCCF and BP have violated the Oil Pollution Act by failing to implement a fair Interim Claim Process. It is well supported by statistics, affidavits and news accounts. The brief alleges that BP's failure to make timely Interim Payment Claims as required by OPA essentially forces claimants to take lowball quickpay settlement offers ($5,000 for individuals and/or $25,000.00 for businesses). A couple ofstatistics are noteworthy:

(i) As of December 2010, Less than 13.6% of Interim claimants have been paid, yet about 95% of quick claim payments had been made. "Statistics clearly indicate that hte GCCF is paying quick pay claims and not paying interim claims..." Brief p. 5.

(ii) Only 36% of all GCCF claimants have received any compensation at all from GCCP or BP.

(iii) As of June 1, 2011 there were 514,263 GCCF Claimants. Of 139,950 Final Payments issued, 114,482 were Quck Payments ($25K or $5K) and 25,468 were fully reviewed.

For any small businesses and/or oyster lease holders out there---here are a few tips:

1. At a minimum, be sure to consult with a lawyer before accepting a Final Settlement Offer and Signing a Release. We are seeing a lot of indivduals and small business owners who are settling their claims for pennies on the dollar. It is important that you consult with a lawyer to understand what damages you may be entiteld to, and if you are accepting a settlement its important to understand the legal rights you may be giving up. Remember, you can continue to get interim payments without having to sign a release.

2. If you disagree with your Final Settlement Offer from the GCCF or believe that it just was not calculated properly, a lawyer can help obtain a recalculation. We have successfully obtained recalculations for several of our clients that resulted in a significant amount of increased compmensation. We have seen inconsistencies in how GCCF Accountants are doing their calculations and it is important to ask questions, and understand how your 2010 lost profits were calculated.

3. If you receive a settlement offer, DO NOT ASSUME THAT GCCF CALCULATED YOUR LOSSES PROPERLY. We have seen many settlement offers where 2010 lost profits were improperly and/or unfairly calculated by the GCCF.

4. If you receive a deficiency letter from the GCCF it is important to respond to it in a timely and professional manner. Failure to do so will result in a delay in payment of your claim, or possibly even in a denial of your claim.

5. Oyster lease holders should NOT SETTLE WITH GCCF YET. We have reason to believe that a revised compensation formula will be published by Ken Feinberg and the GCCF in the very near future that will SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE COMPENSATION FOR OYSTER LEASE HOLDERS. That is not to say that what the GCCF offers to oyster lease holders will be fair compensation. Unfortunatley, BP and hte GCCF continue to only look at the economic lost profits of oyster lease holders and they are not yet taking into consideration that it is damage to real property that has a separate legal significance. ALL OYSTER LEASE HOLDERS SHOULD---IN OUR OPINION--RETAIN AN ATTORNEY TO BE SURE THAT THEY ARE PROPERLY COMPENSATED. it is quite possible that the best outcome for oyster lease holders will be through the MDL litigation and not through the GCCF. Oyster lease holders should discuss their particular situation with an attorney.

Our legal team is available to answer your questions about your GCCF Claim and to discuss your options. We can be reached at 888-213-8140.