CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Dow Corning Breast Implant / Bankruptcy Settlement

Volume 17, No. 1, January 8, 2020

 

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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.

 

 

Since the final claims deadline of June 3, 2019, the Settlement Facility has been busy opening, scanning, and entering all of the claims received. In late 2019, they started reviewing the new claims and have prepared a summary of the type of documents received:

1,230 probate documents

705 attorney of record change requests

2,513 address updates / changes

1,057 requests to review additional Proof of Manufacturer documents

547 new Proof of Manufacturer submissions

4,044 new disease submissions

728 new Increased Severity disease submissions

The Settlement Facility has processed all the probate documents, attorney change requests, address updates, and updated wire instructions. After processing these documents, the Settlement Facility began to substantively review documents and new disease claims and issue payments to approved claims.

Premium Payments

The Finance Committee received the data on the final claims submissions and is currently reviewing and analyzing this in conjunction with the Independent Assessor, as required by the Settlement Facility Agreement. Before Premium Payments can be made, the Settlement Facility Agreement requires the Finance Committee to file a recommendation and motion with the District Court and document that "all Allowed and allowable First Priority Claims and all Allowed and allowable Litigation Payments have been paid or that adequate provision has been made to assure such payment (along with administrative costs) based on the available assets …." SFA 7.03(a).

This analysis and documentation is being conducted now. We do not know when it will be completed, as this is a complex process involving the Independent Assessor, the Financial Advisor, the Finance Committee, and the parties. It is our hope and strong desire to get this analysis completed and urge the Finance Committee and District Court to authorize the final Premium Payments as soon as possible in 2020. Unfortunately, we cannot give you an exact date or timeline now, but we hope to do so in the near future. We will post periodic updates about this as information becomes available.

In the meantime, it is very important that you update the Settlement Facility of any changes in your information or status, such as address changes, probate information, etc. It is also important to respond to any correspondence from the Settlement Facility asking you to confirm your address or provide supplemental documentation if needed.

For reference, here is the contact information for the Settlement Facility:

Website – www.sfdct.com

Email – info@sfdct.com

Phone – 866-874-6099, press 1 for a recorded message about updates in the settlement, then press 4 to speak to a claims representative

Their hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 am – 4 pm CENTRAL time, and Friday 9 am – 3 pm CENTRAL time.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY: Settlement Facility, P.O. Box 52429, Houston, TX 77052 PHONE NUMBER: 866-874-6099 EMAIL: 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.

 

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.