CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Dow Corning Breast Implant / Bankruptcy Settlement
Volume 17, No. 3, March 11, 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.
This is the 167th e-newsletter (Vol. 17, No. 3) 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.
STATUS OF CLAIMS PROCESSING AND PAYMENTS
The Settlement Facility is continuing to review claims submitted by the June 3, 2019 deadline.
- For the months of January and February, the Settlement Facility approved approximately 71 disease claims and 95 Expedited Release claims, for a total payout of approximately $1.36 million. Some of these payments, however, are being held up for a short time by the check writing company, Epiq. On February 29, 2020, Eqiq announced that they had detected unauthorized activity on their system and confirmed that they suffered a ransomware attack. Please note that this happened to Epiq, NOT to the Settlement Facility. Because of the ransomware attack on Epiq, they were not able to issue claim payments in February. Epiq is working to resolve this, but it may take several weeks before they are able to issue checks for the Settlement Facility. We will post any updates about this online at www.tortcomm.org and on our Facebook page, Claimants Advisory Committee, Dow Corning Breast Implant Settlement.
- What is important to note is that no claimant data was affected. This is securely stored by the Settlement Facility, NOT Epiq. Epiq only issues checks for the Settlement Facility. Epiq also reported that they have found no evidence that any client data was accessed, misused, or extracted.
- Also, this will NOT affect the Settlement Facility's ability to continue processing and approving claims. This process will continue to move forward until all claims have been reviewed.
TOTAL CLAIMS PAYMENT CHART
The Settlement Facility has approved a total of 140,036 benefit claims totaling $1.372 billion. The breakdown of payments is set forth below.
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2/29/2020 |
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|
INCLUDES NOI PAYMENTS (DOES NOT INCLUDE STALE CHECKS) |
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|
|
RUPTURE |
EXPLANT |
INCREASED EXPLANT |
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP) |
EXPEDITED |
DISEASE |
MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE) |
OTHER PRODUCTS PREMIUM PAYMENT |
TOTAL |
|
CLASS 5 |
$430,865,011.16 |
$147,082,234.39 |
N/A |
$4,206,791.10 |
$50,113,381.78 |
$637,220,224.62 |
N/A |
N/A |
$1,269,487,643.05 |
|
CLASS 6.1 |
$14,316,750.51 |
$4,623,969.90 |
N/A |
$12,000.00 |
$3,496,907.78 |
$10,535,718.48 |
N/A |
N/A |
$32,985,346.67 |
|
CLASS 6.2 |
$3,731,000.00 |
$258,500.00 |
$1,332,000.00 |
$15,000.00 |
$243,600.00 |
$4,557,350.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$10,137,450.00 |
|
CLASS 6.2 2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$181,000.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$181,000.00 |
|
CLASS 6.2 3 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$530,400.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$530,400.00 |
|
CLASS 7 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$25,576,486.33 |
$13,544,364.69 |
N/A |
N/A |
$39,120,851.02 |
|
CLASS 9 |
$130,000.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$1,766,145.10 |
N/A |
$2,866,500.00 |
$14,215,000.00 |
$18,977,645.10 |
|
CLASS 10.2 / 10.2 |
$6,000.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
$156,450.00 |
N/A |
$224,125.00 |
$1,050,875.00 |
$1,437,450.00 |
|
TOTAL |
$449,048,761.67 |
$151,964,704.29 |
$1,332,000.00 |
$4,233,791.10 |
$82,064,370.99 |
$665,857,657.79 |
$3,090,625.00 |
$15,265,875.00 |
$1,372,857,785.84 |
|
|
RUPTURE |
EXPLANT |
INCREASED EXPLANT |
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP) |
EXPEDITED |
DISEASE |
MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE) |
|
TOTAL |
|
CLASS 5 |
21,690 |
29,723 |
N/A |
848 |
25,328 |
30,241 |
N/A |
N/A |
107,830 |
|
CLASS 6.1 |
1,198 |
1,559 |
N/A |
4 |
2,926 |
1,147 |
N/A |
N/A |
6,834 |
|
CLASS 6.2 |
533 |
142 |
444 |
5 |
348 |
1,181 |
N/A |
N/A |
2,653 |
|
CLASS 6.2 2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
152 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
152 |
|
CLASS 6.2 3 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
884 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
884 |
|
CLASS 7 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
16,815 |
1,708 |
N/A |
N/A |
18,523 |
|
CLASS 9 |
26 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1,767 |
N/A |
476 |
498 |
2,767 |
|
CLASS 10.2 / 10.2 |
2 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
262 |
N/A |
65 |
64 |
393 |
|
TOTAL |
23,449 |
31,424 |
444 |
857 |
48,482 |
34,277 |
541 |
562 |
140,036 |
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF PREMIUM PAYMENTS?
We do not have any updates on this issue. Before Professor McGovern passed away last month, he and the Finance Committee had set in motion a process and timeline for the Independent Assessor to analyze the claims data and issue a report on whether sufficient funds exist to make Base Payments and Second Priority Payments (Premium Payments). This process will continue forward with the goal of having a report finalized this year. Once the report is received, then the Finance Committee must submit a motion to the District Court reporting on the number of projected claims to be paid and the amount of funding needed to make Base Payments and Second Priority Payments. This will include a determination and hopefully a recommendation asking the Court to approve the remaining premium payments. We do not have a date when the report and motion may be filed; however, we remain committed to see that this process goes forward as quickly as possible with the goal of getting premium payments made this year.
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CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY: Settlement Facility, P.O. Box 52429, Houston, TX 77052 PHONE NUMBER: 866-874-6099 EMAIL: info@sfdct.com. |
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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. |
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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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