The intent of Congress when it enacted OPA was "to eliminate, to the extent possible, the need for an injured person to seek recourse through the litigation process." As explained below, I believe the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (the "Fund"), and not costly and protracted litigation, will ensure injured persons are fully compensated for damages which they suffered resulting from the oil spill caused by the blowout of the BP offshore oil well on April 20, 2010.
The following briefly discusses: (a) the Fund and subrogation rights under OPA; (b) how GCCF, without any legal authority for doing so, circumvents many of the rights provided to oil spill victims under OPA; and (c) why litigation, especially class action litigation, is not in the best interests of victims of the BP oil spill.
Secretary Janet Napolitano
October 18, 2010
Page 2
I. Subrogation
Under OPA, claims for damages must be presented first to the responsible party. 33 U.S.C. 2713(a) In the event that a claim for damages is either denied or not paid by the responsible party within 90 days, the claimant may elect to commence an action in court against the responsible party or to present the claim to the Fund. 33 U.S.C. 2713(c)
The maximum amount of money that may be withdrawn from the Fund is $1 billion per incident. 26 U.S.C. 9509(c)(2)(A)
However, any person, including the Fund, who pays compensation pursuant to OPA to any claimant for damages shall be subrogated to all rights, claims, and causes of action that the claimant has under any other law. 33 U.S.C. 2715(a)
Moreover, at the request of the Secretary, the Attorney General shall commence an action on behalf of the Fund to recover any compensation paid by the Fund to any claimant pursuant to OPA, and all costs incurred by the Fund by reason of the claim, including interest (including prejudgment interest), administrative and adjudicative costs, and attorney's fees. Such an action may be commenced against any responsible party or guarantor, or against any other person who is liable, pursuant to any law, to the compensated claimant or to the Fund, for the cost or damages for which the compensation was paid. 33 U.S.C. 2715(c)
In order to ensure the financial viability of the Fund, I ask you to immediately request the Attorney General to commence an action against BP on behalf of the Fund to recover any compensation paid by the Fund to any claimant pursuant to OPA.
The question is whether victims of the BP oil gusher will have to pay thrice: (a) once for the gusher, the environmental and economic damages of which will devastate their way of life and leave many in financial ruin; (b) again by being mislead and undercompensated by GCCF; and (c) a third time for daring to demand justice, which will consume their time, energy and hopes for years to come if they are held hostage by protracted individual lawsuits or class action lawsuits.
II. How GCCF, Without Any Legal Authority For Doing So, Circumvents Many of the Rights Provided to Oil Spill Victims Under OPA
GCCF was meant to replace the inefficient claims process which BP had established to fulfill its obligations as a responsible party pursuant to OPA. Unfortunately, in lieu of making oil spill victims whole, GCCF's primary goal appears to be the limitation of BP's liability via the systematic postponement, reduction or denial of claims against BP.
Secretary Janet Napolitano
October 18, 2010
Page 3
GCCF limits BP's liability via circumventing OPA in the following ways:
A. Proximate Causation
The GCCF Protocol states, "The GCCF will only pay for harm or damage that is proximately caused by the Spill. The GCCF will take into account, among other things, geographic proximity, nature of industry, and dependence upon injured natural resources."
GCCF's requirement that a claimant has the increased burden of proving "proximate causation" between his or her damages and the Deepwater Horizon incident is a clear violation of OPA. Furthermore, paying for damages based on geographic proximity and nature of industry is also a clear violation of OPA.
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