Washington: Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said he anticipates about half the $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) fund set up by the company should be adequate to cover claims for economic losses.
Feinberg said on Bloomberg Television on Friday that it is too early to project how much of the fund will be needed to pay individuals and businesses. He said $10 billion may be enough to compensate victims.
"It remains to be seen, but I would hope that half that money would be more than enough to pay all the claims," Feinberg said.
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which also covers clean-up and remediation costs, has paid about $2.7 billion to more than 170,000 claimants, mostly in temporary, emergency payments in the past four months. The facility, established after negotiations with the Obama administration, has received more than 468,000 claims, according to its website. Feinberg said many claims lacked sufficient documentation to warrant payment and added: "I willbend over backwards to pay claims."
More than 30,000 individuals and businesses have applied for a "quick pay" option Feinberg announced last month in response to criticism the claims process was moving too slowly, according to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility website.
Right to sue
Individuals can receive a $5,000 cheque and businesses a $25,000 cheque within two weeks if they received an emergency payment and waive their rights to sue BP and other companies involved in the spill. More than $140 million has been paid to spill victims through the quick-pay option. Claimants also can seek larger final payments, which may require additional documentation and take longer to process and pay, or they can apply for interim payments on a quarterly basis and retain their legal rights to sue the companies in the spill. The deadline to apply for emergency payments was November 23.
Feinberg also said he asked Stephen Gillers, a New York University School of Law professor, to evaluate his independence from BP in response to questions raised by Louisiana Attorney General James Caldwell in a Nov-ember 24 letter.
Feinberg, whose law firm receives $850,000 a month from BP to administer the claims facility, released an eight-page letter from Gillers on Thursday concluding Feinberg and the facility were independent.
Feinberg said it was appropriate for BP to pay "the entire freight" of the programme.
