Claimants' Advisory Committee

Sybil Niden Goldrich
Ernest Hornsby, Esq.
Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER
Volume 2, No. 8, August 8, 2005

This is the 16h e-newsletter (Vol. 2, No. 8) from the Claimants' Advisory Committee (CAC) in the Dow Corning bankruptcy Settlement Plan. You were sent a copy of the newsletter because our records show that you requested to be on the mailing list. If you wish to unsubscribe or to reply to this newsletter, send an email to: info@tortcomm.org. Please do not hit "Reply" to this email address. Please use the email address: info@tortcomm.org.

NOTE: The CAC is happy to answer questions you may have, but we urge you to first contact the Claims Assistance Program at their toll free number (866-874-6099) or by email at: info@sfdct.com. We apologize for any delay on our part in returning phone calls and answering inquiries. Please know that we will work to respond to each inquiry.

1. Court Enters Order Temporarily Suspending Cure Deadlines
On August 5, 2005, the District Court entered an Agreed Order that immediately suspends all deadlines to cure deficiencies. Specifically, the Order provides that, “All cure deadlines that have run or that will run, up to and including November 14, 2005, are hereby re-set at November 15, 2005.” This means that if your cure deadline has already expired, you are being given another opportunity to submit documents to cure the deficiency. Your new deadline is November 15, 2005. Also, if you have a cure deadline that will run anytime between now and November 14, 2005, you are also being given additional time to submit documents, and your new cure deadline is also November 15, 2005.

While this temporary suspension is in effect, the Successor Claims Administrator (David Austern) will work with the CAC to implement and complete the quality control and audit review recommendations. It is expected that this will result in the disclosure to claimants of any modifications to the claims criteria from the criteria used in the Revised Settlement Program, and the ability of the CAC and claimants to object or comment on the validity of any such changes. In particular, the CAC intends to continue pursuing the more difficult criteria change in the "Disability A" definition.

While the cure deadline is temporarily suspended, claimants do not need to file motions seeking relief from their cure deadline. You should, however, use this time to continue to take appropriate action to cure any deficiency noted by the Settlement Facility with your claim. (A copy of the Order is being posted on the CAC website under "Court Orders.")

2. CAC Negotiates A New Product Identification Protocol For All Pre-1971 Silicone Breast Implants
On July 29, 2005, the District Court entered a “Stipulation and Agreed Order Regarding Pre-1971 Breast Implant Identification Protocol.” The Agreed Order is the result of the motions filed by the CAC and the Houssiere law firm earlier this year that sought acceptance of silicone breast implants implanted prior to 1971 as being manufactured by Dow Corning. The Agreed Order provides that the criteria for Pre-1971 implants will be as follows:

Date of implantation either (a) from November 1963 through December 1970, inclusive, or (b) from January 1962 through October 1963 (but only, for this time period, if the implanting doctor was Dr. Thomas Cronin, Dr. Frank Gerow, Dr. Robert Balme, Dr. C.M. Bovard, Dr. T. Ray Broadbent, Dr. E.R. Dykes, Dr. Bromley Freeman, Dr. F.A. Garcia, Dr. Sanford Glanz, Dr. J.W. Hubly, Dr. Hugh Johnson, Dr. James Johnson, Dr. Mark Lemmon, Dr. John R. Lewis, Jr., Dr. Verner Lindgren, Dr. Maurey Parkes, Dr. Gilbert Snyder, Dr. Melvin Spira, Dr. James Sullivan, Dr. William Taylor, or Dr. R.W. Vincent).

- AND -
Records deemed acceptable under the Plan that:

state that the claimant was implanted with silicone breast implant(s) that

were made by Dow Corning, or
are described as Cronin, or
contain silicone or contain gel, or
are described as having Dacron, a Dacron patch, or Posterior patch

do not mention contradictory information such as:

a competitor's model (e.g., Cox-Uphoff, Simaplast)
polyurethane foam or foam
inflatable or saline, or
silicone sheeting, elastomer or envelope with a non-silicone filler.

(A copy of the Order is being posted on the CAC website under "Court Orders.")

3. Court Enters Case Management Orders For Opt-Out Claims Against The Litigation Facility
Three new Case Management Orders that pertain only to opt-out claimants against the Litigation Facility were entered by the Court on July 25, 2005. The Orders are being posted on the CAC website under "Opt-Out Information for Litigation."

If you would like to read prior CAC e-newsletters, they are available on the CAC website by clicking on "Electronic Newsletter." We urge you to visit the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org) on a regular basis to download or view relevant documents and read updates and new information. To contact the CAC, send an email to: info@tortcomm.org or send a letter to the new Post Office Box address for the CAC at:

Claimants' Advisory Committee
P.O. Box 665
St. Marys, Ohio 45885

This is a NEW P.O. Box address for the CAC so please update your records.

Questions about the status of your claim or a claim-specific question (i.e., when am I going to be paid, has my claim been processed, etc.) should be directed to the Claims Assistance Program at info@sfdct.com. Please do not send these types of questions to the CAC because we are unable to answer them. The CAC does not have access to individual claimant files and information. When we receive inquiries such as this, we have to forward them to the Claims Assistance Program for a response which delays the response.

NOTICE: This document is copyrighted. You are not authorized to post it on any website without express, prior written permission of the Claimants' Advisory Committee.