CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Dow Corning Breast Implant / Bankruptcy Settlement

Volume 17, No. 2, February 18, 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.

 

 

IN MEMORIAM: SPECIAL MASTER FRANCIS MCGOVERN

We are greatly saddened to share with you that Special Master Francis McGovern, who has been actively involved in the breast implant litigation since 1992, passed away suddenly on February 14, 2020. McGovern graduated from Yale University in 1967 and received a J.D. in 1973 from the University of Virginia. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1968 – 1971. In 1997, he was appointed as a Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law and a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, School of Law. He was the President of the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters, and on the Executive Committee of the American Arbitration Association, a member of the Mass Torts Commission for the American Bar Association, and on numerous other executive committees and conferences. He was appointed as a Special Master, Court Expert, Mediator, or Neutral in over 80 cases and mass torts over the last forty years. He is also the author of over 30 law review articles and two books.

He was appointed as a Special Master in MDL-926 by Chief Judge Sam C. Pointer, Jr. and helped facilitate the global settlement and the Revised Settlement Program. In 1997, he was appointed as Mediator in the Dow Corning bankruptcy proceeding. When the Dow Corning Settlement Trust was finalized by the court in 2004, he was appointed as a Special Master and member of the Finance Committee where he has served since that time (the Finance Committee is the entity charged with the responsibility for making recommendations to the court to make Premium Payments).

We will miss Professor McGovern's wit, intelligence, knowledge and experience, his commitment to justice, his steady hand as he steered this litigation and settlement over the past three decades, and his commitment to ensuring that claim payments be made as expeditiously as possible. He was a wonderful colleague and friend. We send our deepest condolences to his wife, Katy, and his children and family.

 

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.

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