Rejected by BP? New Oil Spill Claims Rules Give Businesses Another Shot at the Money
Claims that were once rejected by BP have been given new life thanks to new, more lenient rules issued Monday by oil spill claims czar Kenneth Feinberg. Now claims from businesses and individuals located outside the coastal spill zone will be reviewed and not automatically dismissed, as they were before. That means more claimants -- with both frivolous and legitimate requests -- will be vying for compensation from BP's $20 billion escrow fund.
The $20 billion escrow fund, established by BP earlier this year, is now under the control of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, or GCCF. This means that BP can no longer give businesses, say in Florida, short shrift just because oil didn't hit the beach they're located on. Heck, now a person or business located far inland has a chance to cash in, if they can prove they lost income because of the spill.
Here's GCCF's description of the rules.
Do I have to live in the Gulf region to make a claim? No. Any individual or Business may submit a claim to the GCCF for costs and damages incurred as a result of the oil discharges from the Spill. However, to receive payment from the GCCF, your costs and damages must have been proximately caused by the Spill and must not be too remote in time of place from the Spill.As more businesses, especially those with large claims, jump into the fray, the chance that the escrow fund will be tapped increases. Legitimate claims from Florida businesses will likely be a huge new drain on the fund. Take for example, TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach in Florida, which had its claim rejected by BP. But the company's chief operating officer Keith Overton received a call from Feinberg saying its $1.05 million emergency claim would be processed, according to a St. Petersburg Times report.
Photo from Flickr user di the huntress, CC 2.0
For complete coverage, see All Things BNET on BP's Gulf of Mexico Spill
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