CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Dow Corning Breast Implant / Bankruptcy Settlement

Volume 15, No. 8, December 14, 2018

 

Like or Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ClaimantsAdvisoryCommittee

Email: info@tortcomm.org or

Phone: (419) 394-0717 or

Website: www.tortcomm.org

 

 

CAC Sybil Niden Goldrich

P.O. Box 665 Ernest Hornsby, Esq.

St. Marys, OH 45885 Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

 

 

COURT OF APPEALS RULES ON PARTIAL PREMIUM PAYMENTS; AFFIRMS DISTRICT COURT'S RULING AUTHORIZING PAYMENTS

The Court of Appeals for the 6^th Circuit issued a ruling yesterday on whether partial premium payments could be issued to those claimants whose premium payments were stopped or halted in 2013-14. We are happy to share with you that the Court of Appeals AFFIRMED the District Court's ruling authorizing partial premium payments. This means that they agreed with the District Court that the Settlement Facility can make a partial premium payment (50%) to approved Rupture and Disease claimants who did not receive their premium payment in 2013-14. You can read the Court of Appeals opinion, the District Court's Order of December 27, 2017, and the underlying motions on our website at www.tortcomm.org.

We are working with the Claims Administrator to make sure these partial premium payments are mailed as soon as possible. Because there has been a delay of five years since the first premium payments were stopped, the Settlement Facility will likely need to confirm the current address of eligible claimants and law firms. We strongly urge all claimants and law firms to send an email or letter to the Settlement Facility and confirm your current address. This will be required for all future payments. The email address is: info@sfdct.com. The mailing address of the Settlement Facility is: SF-DCT, P.O. Box 52429, Houston, TX 77052-2429.

This ruling only applies to those claimants whose partial premium payment in 2013-14 was stopped or not issued, or where issued checks needed to be replaced but were not able to be re-issued at that time. It does not authorize payment of the remaining 50% premium payment. This can only be done when the Finance Committee makes a motion recommending that such payments should be made, and the Court approves the recommendation. This has not yet happened. We anticipate that the Finance Committee will wait until the final claims deadline of June 3, 2019 to see how many claims are filed before the deadline. They will then evaluate these claims and make a recommendation about making the final premium payments. We will keep you posted on this in future newsletters and on our website and Facebook page.

If you have any question about this, contact the Settlement Facility directly at their toll free number 866-874-6099 or by email at info@sfdct.com. They can give you information about the status of your claim and any payments to which you may be entitled.

Again, we urge everyone -- claimants and attorneys -- to contact the Settlement Facility and confirm your current address. This will expedite the process of getting correspondence and payments sent to you in a timely manner.

 

REMINDER: FINAL CLAIMS DEADLINE JUNE 3, 2019

All claim forms must be submitted to the Settlement Facility with a postmark date of June 3, 2019 or earlier or they will be considered late and will be denied.

Make sure you submit all of the necessary forms and documents:

1)    a Proof of Manufacturer Form and documents that show you have or had a Dow Corning breast implant,

2)    A Disease / Expedited Release claim form and supporting documents (if you apply for Disease). For Disease claims, you must submit medical records that support the claim.

If you do not submit all of these documents, your claim will be deemed INCOMPLETE and will be denied. You will NOT get an opportunity to submit a missing claim form after the June 3, 2019 deadline.

All claim forms are available on our website at www.tortcomm.org and on the Settlement Facility website at www.sfdct.com. You can also call the Settlement Facility and request claim forms be mailed to you.

 

INCREASED SEVERITY DISEASE CLAIMS:

If you already have an approved Disease claim, you must submit your request for an Increased Severity disease claim on or before June 3, 2019 or it will not be reviewed and will be denied. Review the requirements for Increased Severity claims on our website.

 

DEADLINE AND OTHER REMINDERS

KEEP CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATED WITH THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY: Keep all information regarding a claimant's name, address, phone number, email address, and attorney information current with the Settlement Facility. Attorneys and law firms should also keep their contact information current with the Settlement Facility. Many claimants have been approved for payments but they have moved and have not provided a current address. Send all updates to the Settlement Facility at: Settlement Facility, P.O. Box 52429, Houston, TX 77052 or by email to: info@sfdct.com.

PROBATE INFORMATION (BENEFITS PAYABLE AFTER A CLAIMANT'S DEATH): If a claimant has died, her estate can receive the claimant's approved payments, but they must contain certain necessary documents from the probate court. For more information on what the Settlement Facility needs, contact them toll free at: 1-866-874-6099 or by email at info@sfdct.com.

ATTORNEY FEE LIMITS AND EXPENSES: The Plan sets a cap on the attorney fees payable to your attorney (if you were represented individually on your claim). The fee limits are: 10% of the first $10,000; 22.5% of the next $40,000; and 30% of amounts in excess of $50,000. The Plan also lists the types of expenses that attorneys can charge. For more information on allowable fees and expenses, review the Claimant Information Guide at Section 11 (http://www.tortcomm.org/downloads/CIG_ENG_5.pdf.

EXPLANT ASSISTANCE: The Explant Assistance program in the Dow Corning Settlement Facility expired in 2014. In addition, the MDL 926 Revised Settlement Program that covered other manufacturers like Bristol, Baxter, and 3M closed in 2010 so there are NO explant benefits available from either settlement. The financial assistance program for explantation that was operated by the Common Benefit Fund was suspended in January 2018.

 

Please mark your calendar with the following claim submission deadline. Please note that this deadline means that your claim forms and supporting documents must be postmarked on or before the posted deadline. Please mail all forms early enough so your claim will not be late.

 

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 because they are not allowed to file any claims pursuant to the Agreed Order Allowing Certain Late Claims Limited Rights to Participate in the Plan's Settlement Facility, dated Dec. 12, 2007). Increased Severity claims in Disease Option 1 and Disease Option 2 for all approved disease claims in Classes 5, 6.1, and 6.2. ALL claimants must submit a Proof of Manufacturer Form with supporting documents on or before June 3, 2019.

 

 

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.

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.