CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER

Volume 5, No. 12, September 26, 2008

Sybil Niden Goldrich

Ernest Hornsby, Esq.

Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

This is the 52nd e-newsletter (Vol. 5, No. 12) 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, click here 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 SettlementFacility 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.     REMINDER TO NOI CLAIMANTS (AKA "CONDITIONAL CLAIMANTS"):  YOUR DEADLINE TO FILE ALL CLAIMS FOR EXPLANT AND RUPTURE IS OCTOBER 20, 2008

This is a FINAL reminder to claimants who were classified as "NOI" claimants – also called "Conditional" or "Rule 3005" claimants.  Your deadline to have your Dow Corning breast implants removed and to file an Explant and/or Rupture claim is October 20, 2008.  This deadline only applies to NOI claimants.  The deadline for timely filed Dow Corning claimants to file a Rupture claim expired on June 1, 2006 and no new Rupture claims are permitted to be filed.  Also, timely filed Dow Corning may file an Explant claim up until June 2, 2014.

The October 20, 2008 deadline only applies if you are an NOI claimant.  If you are an NOI claimant, you (or your attorney if you are represented) should have received a mailing from the Settlement Facility informing you of this status in late 2007.  You can contact the Settlement Facility at info@sfdct.com or toll free at 866-874-6099 if you have any questions about whether this deadline applies to you.

2.     INFORMATION ON ATYPCIAL NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE SYNDROME (ANDS) IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE CAC AND SF-DCT WEBSITES

Information on claims criteria and processing rules for Atypical Neurological Disease Syndrome claims (ANDS) is now available on both the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org – click on Disease Claims) and the Settlement Facility website (www.sfdct.com).

3.     SETTLEMENT FACILITY ISSUES PAYMENT TO MDL LIEN CLAIMANTS

The Settlement Facility has authorized payments to those claimants whose claims were previously on hold because of the liens asserted against them by the MDL-926 Claims Office.  The District Court ruled on August 8, 2008 that the MDL-926 did not have standing to pursue the liens in this case, and the MDL-926 Claims Office did not appeal that ruling.  Therefore, it is a final order and payments are now authorized to be made.  Checks should be mailed by Wells Fargo during the first week of October 2008.

4.     STATUS OF INVESTMENTS FOR THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY – DOW CORNING TRUST

Based on current financial events, we have received a number of inquiries about the status of the investments for the Settlement Facility – Dow Corning Trust.  The Settlement Facility trust funds are invested and managed by a Financial Advisor subject to very conservative and strict guidelines that require the Investment Managers to invest in safe, high credit quality securities, and the funds are well within the allowable parameters.  The most recent report from the Financial Advisor shows that the Trust's investments remain as secure as can be in the current financial environment.

5.     DISEASE PROCESSING STATUS AT SETTLEMENT FACILTY

Disease Option 1 claims processing (ACTD, ANDS, etc.) remains essentially current at the Settlement Facility. 

Disease Option 2 claims processing (Scleroderma, SLE, GCTS, etc.) remains backlogged; however, the Settlement Facility is moving additional nurse reviewers to Disease Option 2 to address this issue. 

The Settlement Facility is also reviewing disease claims filed by Class 7 (gel claimants) and has completed 504 disease reviews for the 690 Class 7 claimants who rejected the Cash-Out offer and who have a Disease Option 1 claim.  They will begin reviewing the Disease Option 2 claims in Class 7 in the near future.  The CAC is working with the Claims Administrator to have all first disease reviews completed and Notification of Status letters mailed to claimants by early 2009.

6.     SETTLEMENT FACILITY PAYMENTS TO CLAIMANTS

As of August 31, 2008, the Settlement Facility – Dow Corning Trust reports that it has issued checks to claimants in the Dow Corning Settlement Fund totalling $1.034 billion dollars. 

Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 – Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants

Checks totalling over $417 million dollars have been issued to 21,868 approved rupture claimants.  In addition, approximately 22,219 approved disease claimants have been issued checks totalling approximately $405 million. The approval rate for Proof of Manufacturer (POM) continues to remain at approximately 82% for Dow Corning breast implant claims.  A breakdown of the payments cashed from June 1, 2004 through August 31, 2008 by class and benefit type is listed below:

Cumulative Cashed Checks for Payments to All Classes (including NOI claims)

June 1, 2004 – August 31, 2008

Cumulative Number of Checks Issued to Approved Claims (including NOI claims)

June 1, 2004 –August 31, 2008

Class 7 – Silicone Gel Material Claims

POM Review:  The Settlement Facility – Dow Corning Trust is near completion of its manual review of Class 7 Proof of Manufacturer forms.  The remaining claims to be reviewed are primarily foreign claims that require translation.

Disease Cash-Out Offers:  A total of 7,187 claimants in Class 7 have been sent the $3,000 Disease Cash-Out offer.  Of this number, 65% have cashed the check and accepted the payment, 928 have returned the check and asked for a full disease review, and 1,578 checks are pending (they have not cashed the check or returned it to the SF-DCT).  Most of the claimants who rejected the offer have applied for a Disease Option 1 claim (690) and, of this number, 504 reviews have been completed.  No claims in Disease Option 2 for Class 7 have been done.  The Settlement Facility has begun issuing Notification of Status letters; however, no Class 7 disease claims can be paid until all disease claims have been reviewed and the one-year time deadline to cure deficiencies has expired.  This will take at least another year or more to complete.

The total payout of cashed checks from the capped $57.5 million NPV fund through July 31, 2008 is $20,321,900.  Approximately 12,126 Class 7 claimants have cashed checks for an Expedited Release Payment ($600), a Foreign Gel Payment ($600) or a Disease Cash-Out Payment ($3,000).  Appeals contesting the marshalling requirement remain pending.

Update on NOI Claims Review

Notice of Intent (NOI) Claimants are subject to the Consent Order approved by the District Court on September 7, 2007 (a copy of which is available on the CAC website – www.tortcomm.org – under the left navigation tab entitled "Court Orders").  The Consent Order provides that all NOI claimants who have a Dow Corning breast implant have until October 20, 2008 to submit claim forms and supporting documents for Proof of Manufacturer, Explant and Rupture. 

Approved NOI Explant and Rupture claims are paid out of a separate fund totalling $30 million.  To date, 1,839 claims have been approved totalling $13,352,217.

The Settlement Facility reports that a significant number of NOI claimants have not yet filed claim forms.  We urge all NOI claimants to submit their claim forms and documents as soon as possible.  Currently, there is no backlog to review NOI claims and, if your claim is approved, you can receive payment promptly. 

7.       OTHER DEADLINE REMINDERS!

Please mark your calendar with the following claim submission deadlines.  Note that different deadlines apply to Notice of Intent (NOI) Claimants and Late Claimants.  Please note that most of these deadlines mean that your claim forms and materials must be received by the SF-DCT by the posted deadline.  Please mail all forms early enough so that they are received by the deadline listed below.  If your claim form is not received by the deadline listed below, you will not be permitted to file a claim later.

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.