CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER
Dow Corning Bankruptcy Settlement
Volume 11, No. 2, January 16, 2014
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 107th e-newsletter (Vol. 11, No. 2) 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.
To contact the CAC, use the email address: info@tortcomm.org or dpend440@aol.com. You can also contact the CAC directly at 419-394-0717.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
STATUS OF PARTIAL PREMIUM PAYMENTS
The Finance Committee is working on issuing the partial Premium Payments approved by the District Court on Dec. 31st. Dow Corning has 30 days from that date to file a Notice of Appeal. While they have not done so yet, we are confident that they will appeal and will seek to stay – or stop – the payments from being issued. We have informed them that we are opposed to a stay, and we believe that the partial Premium Payments should be paid. This issue will undoubtedly be briefed and decided by the Court of Appeals. We will post any updates about when partial Premium Payments will be made on our website and in future newsletters.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT PREMIUM PAYMENTS
We have received many questions about who is eligible to receive a partial Premium Payment and how much the payments will be. Under the terms of the Settlement Plan, women who have or had an approved Class 5, 6.1 or 6.2 Disease Claim and/or an approved Rupture claim are eligible for Premium Payments. The Plan provides that Disease Claims are eligible to receive a 20% Premium Payment which is calculated by adding on 20% of the amount of an approved Disease Claim. At this time, the Court has approved a 10% Premium Payment. This means that if you were approved for Disease Option 1, Level C at $10,000, your Partial Premium Payment will be $1,000.
Approved Rupture claims in Class 5 were paid $20,000, and the Premium Payment is an additional $5,000. The Partial Premium Payment for these Rupture claims will be $2,500.
Claims in Class 7 (Silicone Gel claims with implants made by non-DCC manufacturers) are not eligible for Premium Payments. This is something that was negotiated and agreed-upon in the bankruptcy proceeding and cannot be changed.
We will update our website with any news and developments about this matter.
STATUS OF TISSUE EXPANDERS
The District Court ruled – for the second time – that tissue expanders should be treated as Breast Implants under the terms of the Settlement Plan. Dow Corning then filed a second appeal on this issue to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Their brief was filed with the Court on Jan. 9th (a copy is on the CAC website). Our response brief is due on Feb. 11th, and DCC will then get an opportunity to reply on Feb. 28th. We will wait to see if oral argument will be scheduled. We anticipate a ruling in 2014. We will post the other briefs on our website when they are filed.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STATUS OF YOUR CLAIM
We would like to remind everyone that the Claimants' Advisory Committee does NOT have access to your individual claim files; therefore, we cannot answer questions that are specific to the status of your claim or why it was not approved. Please direct these questions directly to the Settlement Facility offices by email (info@sfdct.com) or at their toll free number: 866-874-6099.
URGENT REMINDER THAT THE DEADLINE TO FILE AN EXPLANT CLAIM IS JUNE 2, 2014. TO BE ELIGIBLE, YOU MUST HAVE YOUR DOW CORNING BREAST IMPLANT REMOVED AND YOU MUST SUBMIT THE EXPLANT CLAIM FORM AND OPERATIVE REPORT ON OR BEFORE JUNE 2, 2014. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR ELIGIBILITY, PLEASE CONTACT THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY OFFICES.
REMINDER TO KEEP YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION CURRENT
This is also a reminder to keep your address current with the Settlement Facility. Thousands of letters and checks for approved claims are returned each year because claimants have moved and have not provided an updated address to either their attorney or the Settlement Facility. It is very important that you keep your contact information current. To update your address, email, or other contact information, write a letter to the Settlement Facility detailing the old and new addresses and other information. It would be helpful to add your claim number so that they can easily locate your file. The address of the Settlement Facility is:
SF-DCT
P.O. Box 52429
Houston, TX 77052-2429
If you have any questions about whether the Settlement Facility has your correct address or contact information, please contact them directly.
STATUS OF CLASS 7 PROCESSING AND PAYMENTS
We are very close to reaching an agreement with the Debtor's Representatives to allow the disputed Class 7 disease claims to be processed, which in turn will allow all the remaining approved Class 7 Disease Claims to be paid. We ask for your patience for just a short while longer while we finalize the details. We hope to report on this issue in our next newsletter. We realize that a significant amount of time may have passed since Class 7 claimants first submitted their claim, so we would again remind all claimants to make sure that your address is current with the Settlement Facility.
STATUS OF CLAIMS PROCESSING AND PAYMENTS
The Settlement Facility is essentially current on all processing of new claims and Requests for Re-Review. The Settlement Facility has released information about the status of claims processing and payments through December 31, 2013, The information is summarized below:
Through December 31, 2013, the SF-DCT has received 80,488 Proof of Manufacturer claim forms in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (Dow Corning Breast Implant Claims). Of this number, 65,997 or 82% have acceptable proof of at least one Dow Corning breast implant. Of the 65,997 Dow Corning breast implant claimants with acceptable proof of manufacturer, almost 33% (one-third) or 21,930 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 DEC 31, 2013 |
PERCENTAGE OF CLAIMS APPROVED CLASS 5 | CLASS 6 |
TOTAL $$ PAID IN CATEGORY THROUGH DEC 31, 2013 |
|
RUPTURE |
21,930 |
71% | 40% |
$ 422,010,723.94 |
|
EXPLANT |
29,046 |
99% | 96% |
$ 140,601,685.07 |
|
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE |
655 |
92% | 83% |
$ 3,238,641.10 |
|
INCREASED EXPLANT (6.2 ONLY) |
297 |
N/A | 92% |
$ 888,000.00 |
|
EXPEDITED RELEASE |
24,543 |
92% | 88% |
$ 45,090,488.26 |
|
DISEASE OPTION 1 |
28,550 |
84% | 70% |
$ 420,725,253.02 |
|
DISEASE OPTION 2 |
1,459 |
31% | 23% |
$ 187,336,353.54 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
106,330 |
N/A |
$ 1,219,891,144.93 |
|
12/31/2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 |
$426,062,747.19 |
$141,366,282.87 |
N/A |
$3,401,841.10 |
$41,311,004.41 |
$597,127,838.08 |
N/A |
N/A |
$1,209,269,713.65 |
|
CLASS 6.1 |
$14,037,750.51 |
$4,398,969.90 |
N/A |
$12,000.00 |
$3,093,843.85 |
$8,451,218.48 |
N/A |
N/A |
$29,993,782.74 |
|
CLASS 6.2 |
$3,619,000.00 |
$241,000.00 |
$1,224,000.00 |
$0.00 |
$147,700.00 |
$2,482,550.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$7,714,250.00 |
|
CLASS 6.2 2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$117,400.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$117,400.00 |
|
CLASS 6.2 3 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$512,400.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$512,400.00 |
|
CLASS 7 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$22,885,286.79 |
$0.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$22,885,286.79 |
|
CLASS 9 |
$130,000.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$1,762,145.10 |
N/A |
$2,866,500.00 |
$14,215,000.00 |
$18,973,645.10 |
|
CLASS 10.2 / 10.2 |
$6,000.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$155,850.00 |
N/A |
$219,625.00 |
$1,050,875.00 |
$1,432,350.00 |
|
TOTAL |
$443,855,497.70 |
$146,006,252.77 |
$1,224,000.00 |
$3,413,841.10 |
$69,985,630.15 |
$608,061,606.56 |
$3,086,125.00 |
$15,265,875.00 |
$1,290,898,828.28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RUPTURE |
EXPLANT |
INCREASED EXPLANT |
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP) |
EXPEDITED |
DISEASE |
MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE) |
TOTAL |
|
|
CLASS 5 |
21,445 |
28,570 |
N/A |
687 |
20,868 |
28,596 |
N/A |
N/A |
100,166 |
|
CLASS 6.1 |
1,173 |
1,484 |
N/A |
4 |
2,588 |
796 |
N/A |
N/A |
6,045 |
|
CLASS 6.2 |
517 |
132 |
409 |
0 |
211 |
615 |
N/A |
N/A |
1,884 |
|
CLASS 6.2 2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
99 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
99 |
|
CLASS 6.2 3 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
854 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
854 |
|
CLASS 7 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
13,901 |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
13,901 |
|
CLASS 9 |
26 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1,763 |
N/A |
476 |
498 |
2,763 |
|
CLASS 10.2 / 10.2 |
2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
261 |
N/A |
64 |
64 |
391 |
|
TOTAL |
23,163 |
30,186 |
409 |
691 |
40,545 |
30,007 |
540 |
562 |
126,103 |
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.
|
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.