CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER

Volume 7, No. 2, February 26, 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 70th e-newsletter (Vol. 7, 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. 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 ON TISSUE EXPANDERS AND DISABILITY A

 

Both appeals are fully briefed, and we are waiting for a date for oral argument. The Court of Appeals should set a date for oral argument in the near future.

 

 

2. TIME VALUE CREDIT MOTION FILED BY DOW CORNING

 

The CAC filed its Response to Dow Corning's motion challenging the way its funding payments and credits for the Settlement Trust are calculated. The CAC is strongly opposed to Dow Corning's motion. Dow Corning's Reply Brief is due on March 2, 2010, and the hearing has been rescheduled for March 11^th.

 

Copies of the briefs are available on the CAC website.

 

Other Motions: The following motions remain pending before the District Court: CAC Motion challenging the validity of the "releases" Dow Corning obtained in 1992-1995; CAC Motion requesting an extension of the June 1, 2007 rupture deadline; and the CAC Motion regarding expert rupture reports to establish acceptable proof of rupture.

 

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 reviewing new Disease Option 1 claims in Classes 5 and 6 (Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants), so if you have a Disease Claim ready for review (i.e., you have all medical records that support the symptoms you are relying upon AND you have a disability statement where one is needed), then you may consider submitting your claim now. It should be reviewed within 1-2 months. Requests for re-review (RAI's or documents submitted to cure a deficiency in a claim) will take slightly longer. As of the end of January 2010, the SF-DCT was reviewing RAI's submitted in August 2009 for Disease Option 1.

 

The SF-DCT is also current in reviewing Disease Option 2 claims, and RAI's for Disease Option 2 have only a 1 month backlog.

 

The SF-DCT is now reviewing Class 7 disease claims and hopes to complete this review in 2010.

 

 

5. SETTLEMENT FACILITY PAYMENTS TO CLAIMANTS - $1.164 BILLION

 

The SF-DCT issued approximately $6.578 million in payments for approved claims during January 2010, bringing the total amount paid to claimants to approximately $1.164 billion. The largest category of payments was for Disease claims for Class 5 claimants - $6.346 million.

 

Proof of Manufacturer Processing:

 

The Settlement Facility has released information about the status of claims processing and payments through JANUARY 31, 2010, The information is summarized below:

 

Through JANUARY 31, 2010, the SF-DCT has received 75,723 Proof of Manufacturer claim forms in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (Dow Corning Breast Implant Claims). Of this number, 63,837 or 84.3% have acceptable proof of at least one Dow Corning breast implant. Of the 63,837 Dow Corning breast implant claimants with acceptable proof of manufacturer, almost 34% (one-third) or 21,402 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 JANUARY 31, 2010	PERCENTAGE OF CLAIMS APPROVED CLASS 5 | CLASS 6	TOTAL $$ PAID IN CATEGORY THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2010
RUPTURE	21,402	71% | 36%	$ 414,188,691.31
EXPLANT	27,904	99% | 96%	$ 135,229,386.83
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE	567	91% | 57%	$ 2,810,141.10
INCREASED EXPLANT (6.2 ONLY)	198	N/A | 94%	$ 594,000.00
EXPEDITED RELEASE	18,554	91% | 86%	$ 34,568,480.40
DISEASE OPTION 1	24,935	82% | 66%	$ 372,104,370.49
DISEASE OPTION 2	1,048	22% | 10%	$ 137,076,798.75
TOTAL	94,608	N/A	$ 1,096,571,868.88

 

 

Class 7 - Silicone Gel Material Claims

 

Approximately 14,945 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 $20.9 million. The total fund is $57.5 million NPV.

 

There are a number of pending appeals before the Claims Administrator and Appeals Judge regarding the marshaling requirement for certain Class 7 claimants. The CAC believes this issue requires a Plan interpretation by the parties and is not an issue that can be decided by the Appeals Judge. We are working on this issue now. As noted above, the SF-DCT is now processing Disease claims for those Class 7 claimants who rejected the Disease Cash-Out Offer and hopes to complete this process in 2010.

 

 

 

 

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	NUMBER OF FORMS FILED	NUMBER OF CLAIMS REVIEWED	NUMBER OF CLAIMS APPROVED	# CLAIMS PAID 1ST PAYMENT	# CLAIMS PAID PREMIUM PAYMENT	PERCENTAGE OF CLAIMS APPROVED FOR 1ST PAYMENT	$ AMOUNT PAID 1ST PAYMENT	$ AMOUNT PAID PREMIUM PAYMENT	TOTAL PAID
PROOF OF MANUFACTURER	7222	7213	2616
EXPEDITED RELEASE	3931	1582	1580	2013		100%	$1,907,795.10		$1,907,795.10
RUPTURE	557	124	28	28	28	96%	$136,000.00	$680,000.00	$816,000.00
INFLAMMATORY FOREIGN BODY RESP. (TMJ, finger, wrist, toe, knee & hip)	1747	713	414	393	377	95%	$2,000,125.00	$8,563,760.00	$10,563,885.00
IMPLANT FAILURE (TMJ, finger wrist, toe knee, hip & testicular)	2321	831	111	103	112	93%	$540,000.00	$2,614,115.00	$3,154,115.00
TMJ ENHANCED	1267	370	44	42	43	95%	$529,500.00	$3,345,500.00	$3,875,000.00
TOTALS	17045	10833	4793	2579	560	TOTALS	$5,113,420.10	$15,203,375.00	$20,316,795.10

 

 

 

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	1,941	1905	1,597	1,072	1,611	1,069	$20,109,100
MEDICALLY CONTRAINDICATED	18	17	15	1	9	0	0
EXPLANT	1,498	1,480	1,258	1083	1,256	1,075	$5,240,068
INCREASED EXPLANT	311	311	283	87	283	84	252,000
EAP	273	268	208	40	46	36	$175,200
TOTALS	4,041	3,981	3,361	2,283	3,205	2,264	$25,776,368

 

1/31/2010

RUPTURE	EXPLANT	INCREASED EXPLANT	EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP)	EXPEDITED	DISEASE	MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE)	OTHER PRODUCTS PREMIUM PAYMENT	TOTAL
$419,268,440.80	$136,297,792.09	N/A	$2,976,341.10	$31,776,521.89	$502,634,800.76	N/A	N/A	$1,092,953,896.64
$13,209,750.51	$4,113,362.44	N/A	$9,000.00	$2,602,818.51	$5,536,618.48	N/A	N/A	$25,471,549.94
$2,170,000.00	$150,500.00	$846,000.00	$0.00	$53,200.00	$1,009,750.00	N/A	N/A	$4,229,450.00
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$88,100.00	N/A	N/A	N/A	$88,100.00
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$130,200.00	N/A	N/A	N/A	$130,200.00
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$20,931,442.39	$0.00	N/A	N/A	$20,931,442.39
$130,000.00	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1,753,145.10	N/A	$2,850,000.00	$14,152,500.00	$18,885,645.10
$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
$434,784,191.31	$140,561,654.53	$846,000.00	$2,985,341.10	$57,490,077.89	$509,181,169.24	$3,069,625.00	$15,203,375.00	$1,164,121,434.07
RUPTURE	EXPLANT	INCREASED EXPLANT	EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP)	EXPEDITED	DISEASE	MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE)		TOTAL
21,102	27,550	N/A	600	16,078	25,213	N/A	N/A	90,543
1,104	1,388	N/A	3	2,178	534	N/A	N/A	5,207
310	86	282	0	76	236	N/A	N/A	990
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	74	N/A	N/A	N/A	74
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	217	N/A	N/A	N/A	217
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	12,634	0	N/A	N/A	12,634
26	N/A	N/A	N/A	1,754	N/A	474	496	2,750
2	N/A	N/A	N/A	259	N/A	64	64	389
22,544	29,024	282	603	33,270	25,983	538	560	112,804

 

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.