CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER

Volume 7, No. 1, January 28, 2010

Contact the CAC at: info@tortcomm.org or

phone: (419) 394-0717

fax: (419) 394-1748

 

 

Sybil Niden Goldrich

Ernest Hornsby, Esq

Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

 

 

This is the 69th e-newsletter (Vol. 7, No. 1) 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. STATUS OF APPEALS

 

Tissue Expanders - This issue is now fully briefed and pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. A copy of all briefs are available on the CAC website at www.tortcomm.org. We anticipate a date for oral argument in the first half of 2010.

 

Disability A - This issue is now fully briefed and pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. A copy of all briefs are available on the CAC website at www.tortcomm.org. We anticipate a date for oral argument in the first half of 2010.

 

2. NEW MOTION FILED BY DOW CORNING

 

Dow Corning filed a motion with the court seeking a "Time Value Credit" (TVC) for what it claims are early funding payments it made to the Trust. The total credit Dow Corning is asking the court to allow it against future funding obligations is $370,087,085. The CAC is strongly opposed to this motion, and is filing a response with the court. A hearing date has been set for February10th on this matter. We will report more on the status of this motion in future newsletters, and copies of the briefs will be available on the CAC website next week.

 

3. PREMIUM PAYMENT STATUS

 

We are continuing our efforts to have Premium Payments authorized to Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants who have approved Rupture and/or Disease claims. We understand that this issue is of the highest importance to claimants, and we remain committed to our goal of having Premium Payments authorized. We will update you with any developments on this issue in our newsletters and website.

 

4. SETTLEMENT FACILITY - DOW CORNING TRUST UPDATE

 

Update on Disease Processing Status - We are informed that the SF-DCT is current in processing new Disease Option 1 claims in Classes 5 and 6 (Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants). The SF-DCT is processing Disease Option 2 claims submitted as of August 2009.

 

The SF-DCT informs us that many claimants have acceptable proof that they have or had a Dow Corning breast implant, but they have not filed a Disease Claim. If you wish to do so, there are no processing delays to have a claim reviewed. You may also apply for an Expedited Release Payment of $2,000 in exchange for waiving your right to file a Disease claim in the future.

 

The deadline to file a claim for Disease or Expedited Release is June 3, 2019.

 

5. SETTLEMENT FACILITY PAYMENTS TO CLAIMANTS - $1.157 BILLION

 

The SF-DCT issued approximately $7.756 million in payments for approved claims during December 2009, bringing the total amount paid to claimants to approximately $1.157 billion. The largest category of payments was for Disease claims for Class 5 claimants - $7.353 million.

 

Proof of Manufacturer Processing:

 

Through DECEMBER 31, 2009, the SF-DCT has received 75,725 Proof of Manufacturer claim forms in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (Dow Corning Breast Implant Claims). Of this number, 63,810 or 84.27% have acceptable proof of at least one Dow Corning breast implant. Of the 63,810 Dow Corning breast implant claimants with acceptable proof of manufacturer, almost 34% (one-third) or 21,387 women have been approved for a Rupture claim for their Dow Corning silicone gel breast implant.

 

CLASS 5, 6.1 AND 6.2 (EXCLUSIVE OF NOI PAYMENTS)    
(DOW CORNING BREAST IMPLANT CLAIMS)    
       
CLAIM CATEGORY NUMBER OF CLAIMS PAID THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2009 PERCENTAGE OF CLAIMS APPROVED CLASS 5 | CLASS 6 TOTAL $$ PAID IN CATEGORY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2009
RUPTURE 21,387 71% | 36% $ 413,965,191.31
EXPLANT 27,865 99% | 96% $ 135,044,791.83
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE 566 91% | 57% $ 2,805,141.10
INCREASED EXPLANT (6.2 ONLY) 192 N/A | 94% $ 576,000.00
EXPEDITED RELEASE 91% | 86% $ 34,472,780.40
DISEASE OPTION 1 82% | 66% $ 368,245,620.49
DISEASE OPTION 2 1,032 22% | 9% $ 134,834,548.75
       
       
TOTAL 94,209 N/A $1,089,944,073.88

 

 

Class 7 - Silicone Gel Material Claims

 

Approximately 14,981 claimants in Class 7 - Silicone Gel Material Claims - have been approved for either an Expedited Release Payment ($600) or a Disease Cash-Out Offer ($3,000). Total payments to date from the Class 7 Fund are approximately $20.8 million. The total fund is $57.5 million NPV.

 

Class 7 - Silicone Gel Material Claims
# Class 7 Forms Filed 54,712
Failed Prescreen - Ineligible Implant - Failed Marshalling 37,453
Foreign Gel Claims Approved & Paid $600 621
Expedited Release Claims Approved & Paid $600 6,990
# of Disease Cash-Out Offers of $3,000 7,370
TOTAL PAYMENTS OR CASH-OUT OFFERS 14,981
TOTAL # of Claims Paid (excluding those who rejected the Cash-Out Offer) 12,593
TOTAL AMT PAID as of 12/31/2009 $20,830,042.39

 

 

 

 

Class 9 and 10 - Dow Corning Covered Other Products

 

Below is a chart showing the total number of Class 9 and 10 claims filed and paid to date:

 

CLASS 9, 10.1 AND 10.2                  
DCC "COVERED" OTHER PRODUCTS                
                   
CLAIM CATEGORY # OF FORMS FILED # OF CLAIMS REVIEWED # OF CLAIMS APPROVED # CLAIMS PAID 1ST PYMT # CLAIMS PAID PREM. PYMT % OF CLAIMS APPRVD FOR 1ST PYMT $ AMOUNT PAID 1ST PYMT $ AMOUNT PAID PREMIUM PAYMENT TOTAL PAID
PROOF OF MANUFACTURER 7222 7212 2616            
EXPEDITED RELEASE 3931 1582 1580 2014   100% $1,908,795   $1,908,795
RUPTURE 557 124 28 27 27 96% $131,000 $655,000 $786,000
INFLAMMATORY FOREIGN BODY RESP. (TMJ, finger, wrist, toe, knee & hip) 1746 714 414 393 377 95% $2,000,125 $8,563,760 $10,563,885
IMPLANT FAILURE (TMJ, finger wrist, toe knee, hip & testicular) 2320 831 110 103 112 94% $540,000 $2,614,115 $3,154,115
TMJ ENHANCED 1267 371 44 42 43 95% $529,500 $3,345,500 $3,875,000
TOTALS 17041 10834 4792 2579 559 TOTALS $5,109,420 $15,178,375 $20,287,795

 

 

 

NOI CLAIMS              
CLASS 5 & 6.1 & 6.2            
               
  TOTAL FORMS FILED FORMS FILED WITH POM ACCEPTABLE POM APPROVED COMPLETE # CLAIMS PAID TOTAL AMT PAID
RUPTURE 1,937 1901 1,593 1,069 1,604 1,066 $20,053,850
MEDICALLY CONTRAINDICATED 18 17 15  1 9  0  0
EXPLANT 1,496 1,478 1,256 1081 1,254 1,073 $5,230,068
INCREASED EXPLANT 311 311 283  87  282 84   252,000
EAP 273 268 208 40 46 36 $175,200
TOTALS 4,035 3,975 3,355 2,278 3,195 2,259 $25,711,118

 

 

12/31/2009
INCLUDES NOI PAYMENTS (DOES NOT INCLUDE STALE CHECKS)
  RUPTURE EXPLANT INCREASED EXPLANT EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP) EXPEDITED DISEASE MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE) OTHER PRODUCTS PREMIUM PAYMENT TOTAL
CLASS 5 $419,060,690.80 $136,114,947.09 N/A $2,971,341.10 $31,690,521.89 $496,666,800.76 N/A N/A $1,086,504,301.64
CLASS 6.1 $13,173,750.51 $4,101,362.44 N/A $9,000.00 $2,594,418.51 $5,494,618.48 N/A N/A $25,373,149.94
CLASS 6.2 $2,135,000.00 $148,750.00 $828,000.00 $0.00 $52,500.00 $918,750.00 N/A N/A $4,083,000.00
CLASS 6.2 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A $88,100.00 N/A N/A N/A $88,100.00
CLASS 6.2 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A $129,600.00 N/A N/A N/A $129,600.00
CLASS 7 N/A N/A N/A N/A $20,830,042.39 $0.00 N/A N/A $20,830,042.39
CLASS 9 $125,000.00 N/A N/A N/A $1,754,145.10 N/A $2,850,000.00 $14,127,500.00 $18,856,645.10
CLASS 10.2 / 10.2 $6,000.00 N/A N/A N/A $154,650.00 N/A $219,625.00 $1,050,875.00 $1,431,150.00
TOTAL $434,500,441.31 $140,365,059.53 $828,000.00 $2,980,341.10 $57,293,977.89 $503,080,169.24 $3,069,625.00 $15,178,375.00 $1,157,295,989.07
  RUPTURE EXPLANT INCREASED EXPLANT EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP) EXPEDITED DISEASE MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE)   TOTAL
CLASS 5 21,092 27,513 N/A 599 16,035 24,951 N/A N/A 90,190
CLASS 6.1 1,101 1,384 N/A 3 2,171 528 N/A N/A 5,187
CLASS 6.2 305 85 276 0 75 218 N/A N/A 959
CLASS 6.2 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A 74 N/A N/A N/A 74
CLASS 6.2 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A 216 N/A N/A N/A 216
CLASS 7 N/A N/A N/A N/A 12,593 0 N/A N/A 12,593
CLASS 9 25 N/A N/A N/A 1,755 N/A 474 495 2,749
CLASS 10.2 / 10.2 2 N/A N/A N/A 259 N/A 64 64 389
TOTAL 22,525 28,982 276 602 33,178 25,697 538 559 112,357

 

 

 

6.     DEADLINE REMINDERS

 

Please mark your calendar with the following claim submission deadlines. Please note that 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. The filing deadlines are not the same as "cure deadlines." Cure deadlines are individual deadlines that are set out in Notification of Status letters following the SF-DCT's review of your claim.

 

 

Deadline Date

Type of Deadline

June 2, 2014

Explant Claims submission deadline for timely filed claimants in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (NOTE: this deadline does NOT apply to NOI claimants or Late Claimants)

June 3, 2019

Disease or Expedited Release Claim submission deadline for all claims in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (this deadline does NOT apply to Late Claimants)

 

_______________________________________________________________________

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

 

Phone Number: (419) 394-0717

Fax Number: (419) 394-1748

Email: info@tortcomm.org

 

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.