The $ 20 billion BP oil spill fund was made available Monday when BP and the Justice Department finished all their negotiations. BP deposited $ 3 billion to the fund that will compensate victims of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010. The fund was set up after BP and Obama met and discussed the situation on June 16. The total BP bill is about $ 6.1 billion which contains a portion paid for oil spill claims which was about $ 319 million. You will find nevertheless 100,000 people that hope their claims will soon be answered. And the lawyers still aren’t certain how the fund will work.
Better than expected is the BP oil spill fund schedule
The oil spill fund is designed to have its first deposit from BP made by the end of September. Robert Dudley, who replaces Tony Hayward as BP’s chief executive officer on Oct. 1, told Bloomberg that making the deposit ahead of schedule emphasizes the company’s commitment to “making it right within the Gulf.”. Obama explained in June that BP is nevertheless responsible for cleanup and economic damage, and individuals nevertheless may sue the company whenever they feel the right to do so. $ 5 billion will be put in the fund annually for the next four years. Within the fourth quarter of every year, $ 2 billion more will need to be paid with a BP deposit of $ 1.25 billion per quarter until having reached $ 20 billion.
BP claims process bogging down
Checks from the BP oil spill fund could be cashed for free at New Orleans-based Whitney National Bank, which has 160 branches along the Gulf Coast. By the end of this month, Kenneth Feinberg who was appointed by the government as an administrator of the fund, explains that a BP oil claims facility will be up and running.
145,000 oil spill claims were filed and on record by August 7. 103,900 claims totaling $ 319 million were paid already. NPR reports the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has numerous coastal residents fighting for their economic survival, and they expect BP to keep them afloat. But more than 100,000 individuals are nevertheless waiting to hear about their claims. Many think that with the BP claims process, it is hard to actually get anything done. Some businesses have given up on BP altogether and say they’ll wait until Feinberg takes over the BP oil spill fund later this month.
Hard to determine BP oil spill fund
While the BP oil spill fund has been highly publicized, the actual information of what is going on with the fund are murky. The BP oil spill fund seems difficult to access for those lawyers and clients who are trying to be a part of the program, reports the Legal Broadcast Network (LBN). Lawyers handling oil spill claims wonder about the ability of their clients to structure oil claim payments over time to reduce the tax hit. Legal fees on the checks being handed out aren’t tax deductible. LBN said these questions remain to be answered, or even asked, of the people running the fund.
Find more information on this subject
Bloomberg
bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-09/bp-20-billion-oil-spill-compensation-fund-agreement-completed-with-u-s-.html
NPR
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129074745
Legal Broadcast Network
thelegalbroadcastnetwork.squarespace.com/the-lbn-blog/2010/8/9/the-bp-oil-spill-compensation-fund-what-is-next-ken-feinberg.html
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