BP Settlement Architects Hope To Win Over Skeptics | Fox News

BP Settlement Architects Hope To Win Over Skeptics | Fox News:

"I would say Mr. Feinberg did the best he could under very challenging circumstances, and he played the cards he was dealt to the best of his ability. But now we're starting with a new deck," said Steve Herman, one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys in the litigation.

Herman expressed confidence that the settlement's architects can convince skeptics that a court-supervised claims process is a better vehicle for resolving claims than the GCCF has been.

"It recognizes more claims than were recognized under the GCCF," he said. "It gives the claimants more flexibility in establishing their losses and offers more security as to future risks."

Herman said the GCCF formula for calculating a claimant's economic losses compared 2009 revenues with post-spill 2010 revenues. The settlement program would allow a claimant to compare 2010 revenues against a broader time period, looking at revenues between 2007 and 2009, according to Herman.

Claimants will have a right to appeal any settlement offered though the court-supervised process to a neutral party or panel of up to three people. BP also can appeal any award over $25,000, but the company would have to pay a 5 percent penalty to the claimant if it loses, according to Herman.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/06/bp-settlement-architects-hope-to-win-over-skeptics/#ixzz1oSaCm0W9

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