CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE           

Dow Corning Breast Implant / Bankruptcy Settlement

Volume 18, No. 8, October 13, 2021

 

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.

 

 

UPDATE ON PREMIUM PAYMENTS

Premium Payments continue to be sent to claimants with approved Rupture or Disease claims who have verified their address with the Settlement Facility. In addition, the Settlement Facility mailed thousands of letters to claimants who have not yet verified their address asking them to do so. If you receive this letter, please respond. You will not receive your Premium Payment until you contact the Settlement Facility to verify your address.  This process will continue until all claimants have been contacted. In addition, attorneys and law firms must verify their address with the Settlement Facility as well.

To verify your address, call the Settlement Facility at 866-874-6099 (if outside the U.S., call 713-874-6099), or you can send them an e-mail to:  info@sfdct.com, or you can mail a letter to:  SFDCT, P.O. Box 52429, Houston, TX 77052.

 

SETTLEMENT FACILITY SURVEY TO LAW FIRMS

The Settlement Facility sent out emails to attorneys of record asking them to complete a short survey about uncashed funds or funds in escrow accounts that have not been distributed to claimants. The Settlement Facility recognizes that law firms are currently distributing the premium payments, and the survey does not have a way to handle questions about that are in the process of being distributed. Therefore, some attorneys are unable to answer parts of the survey. We are working to address this issue and will update you on the status of this soon.

If at any time a law firm is not able to distribute funds to a claimant, the attorney must return all funds to the Settlement Facility and file a lien to recover their attorney fees and expenses. Pursuant to Section 10.09 of the Settlement Facility and Fund Distribution Agreement, "All funds in the Settlement Facility are deemed in custudia legis until such times as the funds have actually been paid and received by a Claimant …."  This means that claimant payments should never be escheated to a state as unclaimed funds.

 

Contact the Settlement Facility for more information on the court-approved lien process and the form to assert a lien for attorney fees and expenses.

 

PROBATE ISSUES FOR DECEASED CLAIMANTS

If a claimant is now deceased, the Settlement Facility accepts probate documents from the court-approved Representative of a claimant's estate. Contact the Settlement Facility directly to find out what documentation they require. You can call them directly at 866-874-6099 or by email at: info@sfdct.com.

FOR LAW FIRMS ONLY:  If a client is now deceased and the probate matter is closed or too small to open a formal probate proceeding, the Settlement Facility does accept an "Estate Claims Affirmation and Agreement." This form requires the attorney of record to execute the Estate Affirmation Form certifying information about the deceased claimant and agreeing to indemnify the Settlement Facility in exchange for issuance of payment. You can download a copy of the form here:

http://tortcomm.org/downloads/Estate_Claims_Affirmation_and_Agreement.pdf

THIS FORM IS FOR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD ONLY. If you are not an attorney but are representing the estate of a deceased claimant, contact the Settlement Facility for information on how to proceed.

For claimants who represent non-U.S. or "foreign" claimants as defined by the Plan, download the following probate form on the CAC website (listed under "Other Downloads and Forms) to use – Affidavit of Distributee Of A Decedent's Estate Claim in the Dow Corning Settlement Program.  THIS FORM IS FOR USE BY NON-US CLAIMANTS ONLY.

 

 

 

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.