This is the 36th e-newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 6) 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.

Requests for copies of claim forms or inquiries about the status of a claim should be directed to the Settlement Facility at info@sfdct.com or 866-874-6099. The Claimants’ Advisory Committee does not have access to individual claimant files to answer these kinds of questions.

1. COURT SIGNS CONSENT ORDER ON "NOI" OR CONDITIONAL CLAIMS SETTLEMENT

On Friday, September 7, 2007, the Court signed a "Consent Order Resolving The Motions of Dow Corning Corporation To Establish Procedure To Match Notices of Intent to Rule 3005 Claims and Limit Participation In Settlement Program By Non-Matched Notice of Intent Filers." This settlement only applies to Explant, Rupture and Expedited Release claims for "Conditional" or "Notice of Intent" claims in Classes 5 and 6 (Dow Corning breast implant claimants). It does not affect any benefits for timely filed claimants.

What is an "NOI Claim"?
Dow Corning filed motions in 2004 and 2006 (the NOI Motions) seeking to disallow "unmatched Notice of Intent claims" ("NOI Claimant") for Explant, Rupture and Expedited Release. An "NOI Claimant" is someone who (a) submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) or Proof of Claim (POC) form in the Dow Corning bankruptcy case that was received after November 30, 1999 (the date the bankruptcy court confirmed or approved the Joint Plan of Reorganization of Dow Corning) and on or before August 30, 2004 (the deadline to file an NOI form), or (b) filed an NOI on or before November 30, 1999, but did not respond to Dow Corning's notice to file a POC pursuant to Paragraph 10 of the Confirmation Order.

NOTE: Most claimants are timely filed claimants and are not NOI Claimants. A timely filed claimant is someone who filed a Proof of Claim form in the Dow Corning bankruptcy on or before November 30, 1999, the date the bankruptcy court entered an order confirming or approving the Joint Plan of Reorganization. The NOI Consent Order does not apply to timely filed claimants. If you have any questions about whether this settlement applies to you, contact Claims Assistance at 1-866-874-6099 or at info@sfdct.com.

The Tort Claimants' Committee - and then the Claimants' Advisory Committee -- opposed the NOI Motions and have been working to resolve them for the past several years. We recently reached agreement to resolve Dow Corning's objections to these NOI claims.

CAC Position Regarding The NOI Settlement and Consent Order
There are many reasons why we recommend that NOI Claimants accept this settlement. It allows NOI Claimants to seek recovery for Explant (removal of a Dow Corning breast implant) and Rupture of a silicone gel Dow Corning breast implant, and also allows NOI Claimants to possibly receive a Premium Payment if these payments are approved for other non-NOI Claimants and if sufficient funds are available. It also allows NOI Claimants to have their claim processed now and paid without any further delay caused by the NOI Motions.

There are some risks that NOI Claimants should consider. Under the settlement, the maximum amount available to pay all unmatched NOI Claimants for Explant and Rupture claims is $30 million. Based on the data and analyses that were done by a neutral third party - the Independent Assessor -- and the report of the Claims Administrator that was submitted pursuant to the June 10, 2004 "Order re Motion to Establish Procedures To Determine The Eligibility of Claimants Filing Notices of Intent After The Confirmation Date And Within 90 Days After The Effective Date," this amount is estimated to be sufficient to pay all unmatched NOI claims for Explant and Rupture in full. However, payment in full cannot be guaranteed for Rupture claims for NOI Claimants. If $30 million is not sufficient, then Rupture and Explant claims by NOI Claimants (but primarily Rupture claims) may be reduced pro rata just like claims can be reduced pro rata for non-NOI Claimants if there is a funding shortfall.

Taking into account the benefits and risks, the Claimants' Advisory Committee recommends that all NOI Claimants accept this settlement. A copy of the Consent Order is posted on the CAC website.

New Explant and Rupture Deadline For NOI Claimants ONLY
NOI Claimants will have only one year to submit a claim for Explant and Rupture. This means that you must have your Dow Corning breast implants removed and your Explant and Rupture claim forms sent to the Settlement Facility within the next year to qualify for these benefits. This is a shorter period of time compared to the Explant deadline for non-NOI Claimants so please take note of it. The Explant Assistance Program is also available to assist you. Please note that this extension of the Rupture deadline does NOT apply to non-NOI Claimants. The extension is only for NOI Claimants and has been allowed because NOI Claimants were told they were not eligible for Explant and Rupture benefits and were not allowed access to the Explant Assistance Program prior to this time.

2. CLAIMS PAYMENT SUMMARY

The Settlement Facility has released information about the status of claims processing and payment through JULY 31, 2007. The information is summarized below.

Through JULY 31, 2007, the Settlement Facility has received 74,795 Proof of Manufacturer claim forms in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2. The Settlement Facility has completed reviews on 96.5% of these claims and expects to complete the review of the remaining 4% within the next 30 days. Of the 74,795 claims, 60,547 or 81% have acceptable proof of a Dow Corning breast implant.

Claim Category	Number of Claims Paid through July 31, 2007	Percentage of Claims Approved Class 5 | Class 6	Total $$ Paid in category through July 31, 2007
RUPTURE	20,229	70% | 45%	$395,014,065.97
EXPLANT	26,664	99% | 95%	$129,598,844.87
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE	500	89% | 57%	$2,480,141.10
INCREASE EXPLANT (6.2 ONLY)	32	N/A | 89%	$96,000.00
EXPEDITED RELEASE	15,368	90% | 72%	$28,992,455.86
DISEASE OPTION 1	17,638	79 % | 53%	$260,241,644.51
DISEASE OPTION 2	514	18% | 8%	$63,597,957.50
Total	80,945	N/A	$880,021,109.81

Note: The approval percentages for Disease Options 1 and 2 include those claims that were previously approved by the MDL 926 Claims Office and are Opass through O in the Settlement Facility (i.e., the claimant had an implant from Bristol, Baxter or 3M and a breast implant from Dow Corning and has applied to receive 50% of her disease award in the Dow Corning case). As a result, the percentage of approved Disease claims processed by the Settlement Facility if actually lower.

CLASS 7
(SILICONE GEL MATERIAL CLAIMANTS)

Claim Category	Number of Forms Filed	Approved & Paid - Foreign Gel	Approved & Paid Expedited	Approved Offers	Total Approved	Total Ineligible	Pending Pom 1st Review
Proof of Manufacturer	54,506	585	4,522	4,973	10,080	29,260	14,330

Claim Category	Number of Forms Filed	Number of Claims Reviewed	Number of Claims Approved	Number of Claims for Benefits Reviewed	Number of Claims for Benefits Approved	Percentage of Claims Approved
Proof of Manufacturer	7241	7118	2452	7118	2452	34%
Expedited Release	3937	1480	1476	1480	1476	100%
Rupture (Chin and testicular)	564	112	22	112	22	20%
Inflammatory Foreign Body Resp. (TMJ, finger, wrist, toe, knee & hip)	1716	633	341	633	341	54%
Implant Failure (TMJ, finger, wrist, toe, knee, hip & testicular)	2323	772	94	772	94	12%
TMJ Enhanced	1272	339	28	339	28	8%

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 Post Office Box address for the CAC at:

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

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.