CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER

Dow Corning Bankruptcy Settlement

 

Volume 12, No. 2, March 26, 2015

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 120^th e-newsletter (Vol. 12, 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.

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STATUS OF PREMIUM PAYMENTS

            As we reported last month, the Court of Appeals issued an Order which effectively stopped the Settlement Facility from issuing the remaining partial Premium Payments to eligible claimants.  The CAC filed a petition for rehearing before that Court asking it to reconsider its ruling.  Unfortunately, the Court of Appeals issued a ruling yesterday denying our request.  (Copies of the request for rehearing the Court of Appeals' rulings can be found on our website.)  This means that the matter is now before the District Court.  The Finance Committee has indicated to the parties that it intends to wait for the June 2015 report from the Independent Assessor before proceeding with any recommendation.  We anticipate that sometime later this year, a motion will be filed asking the District Court to approve partial Premium Payments to the approved Disease and Rupture claimants in Classes 5, 6.1, and 6.2 who did not already receive a payment or whose payment was caught in limbo by the Court of Appeals' ruling.  We will post updates to our website.

            We realize the situation is very frustrating and upsetting.  We are working very hard to have a motion filed before the District Court as soon as possible and to hopefully reach agreement with the Finance Committee and parties to allow the payments caught in limbo to be paid.

CLARIFICATION – We received phone calls and correspondence from claimants and attorneys who questioned whether they could cash a check they have received.  The answer is yes – if you received a check, you can cash it.  The Settlement Facility will honor the check unless it is a Premium Payment check that has expired.  Also, the Court of Appeals Order applies only to partial Premium Payments.  The Settlement Facility can still process and issue checks for other benefits, such as Disease and Expedited Release.  These types of payments are not on hold.

 

EXPEDITED RELEASE PAYMENTS

            The Settlement Plan provides that any claimant who has acceptable proof that she had or has a Dow Corning breast implant is eligible to receive either a Disease Payment or an Expedited Release Payment.  The deadline to file a claim for Disease or Expedited Release is June 3, 2019.  If you decide to forego applying for a Disease Payment and you want to accept the Expedited Release Payment, simply complete and return the Disease/Expedited Release claim form and submit it to the Settlement Facility.  For claimants in Class 5 (U.S.), the Expedited Release Payment is $2,000.  For claimants in Class 6.1, the payment is $1,200, and for claimants in Class 6.2, the payment is $700.  Remember, you must first submit and have your Proof of Manufacturer determined as acceptable, and, if you request and accept the Expedited Release Payment, this forever settles your Disease claim and you will not be eligible for any further Disease benefits (including Premium Payments on the Disease claim) in the future.

The Disease / Expedited Release claim form is available on the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org) or on the SF-DCT website (http://www.sfdct.com/_sfdct/index.cfm/how-to-file-a-claim-for-benefits/claim-forms-by-class/).   The Proof of Manufacturer form is also available on these websites.

 

REMINDER:  PLEASE KEEP YOUR ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFORMATION CURRENT WITH THE SF-DCT

Please remember to keep your contact information current with the SF-DCT, including any information about probate, attorney representation, and address / phone number / email address.  Thousands and thousands of checks and award letters are returned to the SF-DCT every year because a claimant has moved and failed to update her new address with the SF-DCT.

There are many other claimants who have an approved claim for payment, but the SF-DCT cannot locate them.  If you move, make sure you notify the SF-DCT.  Their contact information is:

                        SF-DCT                                               or by email:  info@sfdct.com

                        P.O. Box 52429                                               or by phone: 1-866-874-6099

                        Houston, TX  77052-2429

 

 

If you have any question about your claim or its status, please contact the Settlement Facility.  The CAC does not have access to individual claimant files, so we cannot answer your questions about your claim details.

 

CLASS 7 UPDATES

 

            First, we do not have a final agreement yet on distributing the remaining Class 7 settlement funds.  We understand if you are frustrated since we have previously reported that we hoped to have an agreement and motion filed months ago.  We can say that we are very, very close to finalizing the agreement, and, once it is approved by the District Court, payments to approved Disease claims in Class 7 can be made immediately.  Please bear with us just a little longer.  We promise that we are working hard to get this done.  Class 7 has many complicated issues, and, since we are proposing to close the Fund, we need to make sure that all types of claims in this Class have been addressed.  Because Class 7 is a capped fund, these issues must be resolved before final payments can begin.  We will issue a separate newsletter on this issue when we file the motion asking the Court for approval to distribute Disease Payments.

 

 

CLAIMS PROCESSING UPDATES

 

            In February 2015, the Settlement Facility issued 138 payments totaling $1.359 million.  To date, they have paid:

•  $445 million in Rupture Payments to 23,224 claimants,

•  $152 million in Explant Payments to 31,259 claimants,

•  $4.229 million in Explant Assistance Payments to 856 claimants,

•  $71.346 million in Expedited Release Payments to 41,284 claimants, and

•  $619.071 million in Disease Payments to 30,929 claimants. 

 

The total payments made through the end of February 2015 is $1.31 billion for 129,086 claims.

 

            The Settlement Facility is current in processing new claims and claims for re-review.

 

UPDATE:  Claims from South Korea have been reclassified from Class 6.2 to Class 6.1 effective January 1, 2015.  This means that these claims are eligible to paid at a higher rate (Class 6.1) because they meet the criteria set out in Annex A to the Settlement Facility Agreement, Section 6.05(h)(ii). 

 

LATE CLAIM SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:  The parties are working with the Claims Administrator to determine when approved late claims who are part of the Settlement Agreement and who elected the Full Pay Option can be paid.

 

LATE CLAIM REQUESTS:  The District Court has entered a series of Orders denying all late claim requests submitted since the date of the Late Claim Settlement Agreement in 2007. 

 

"RELEASED" CLAIMS – the parties are working to determine if a consensual resolution can be reached.

 

 

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 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.