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BREAKING NEWS UPDATE 08/18/08
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The areas that will be covered in this newest update are as follows:
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DEADLINE REMINDERS |
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RECENT RULINGS BY DISTRICT COURT
B. APPEALS OF DENIED RUPTURE CLAIMS BY INDIVIDUALS:
On March 31, 2008, the District Court entered Orders in several individual claimant appeal cases concerning the claimant’s denied rupture claim.” A summary of the rulings is found below in a quote from one of the Orders. The Court stated:
The Plan provides that “[t]he decision of the Appeals Judge is final and binding on both Reorganized Dow Corning and the claimant.” (SFA, Annex A, § 6.02(vi)) The Plan provides no right to appeal to the Court and expressly sets forth that the decision of the Appeals Judge is final and binding on both the Reorganized Dow Corning and the claimants. Allowing the appeal to go forward and to direct the Claims Administrator to pay a denied rupture claim would be a modification of the Plan language. The Plan’s language is clear and unambiguous that the decision of the Appeals Judge is final and binding on the claimants and the Reorganized Dow Corning.
The Court has no authority to review the SF-DCT’s decision denying any rupture claim by way of an appeal from the Appeals Judge’s decision.
C. Pending Motions
The following motions are STILL pending before the court:
(a) the CAC’s motion concerning application of the Disability A standard (the and/or dispute),
(b) the CAC’s motion concerning whether tissue expanders are breast implants eligible for the SF-DCT,
(c) the CAC’s motion concerning the 24 month/5 year tolling for Disease Option 2 claims,
(d) the CAC’s motion concerning the validity of the “Receipt and Release” documents DCC obtained as part of its Explant Assistance program from 1992 – 1995,
(e) the Court has recently RULED that the MDL 926 Claims Office cannot assert a lien against settling claimants in the Dow Corning case.
D. STATUS OF DISEASE PROCESSING AT THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY
Disease Option 1 processing is current with only a minor backlog of approximately two weeks. Re-reviews (Review of Additional Information or RAI) have a backlog of approximately 4 months.
For Disease Option 2, the Claims Board continues to work to lessen the backlog. Since January 2008, it has cut the backlog from 23 months to its current status of 15 months. Re-reviews for Disease Option 2 also have a 4 month backlog.
E. CLASS 7-SILICONE GEL MATERIAL CLAIMS
The Claims Board is almost finished with it review of Class 7 POM forms. According to the Claims Board, that are 868 claimants who rejected the Disease Cash-Out offer of $3,000, and of this number, 400 disease reviews in Disease Option 1 have been completed. The Claims Board has started sending out Notification of Status letter, however no Class 7 disease claims can be paid until all disease claims have been reviewed and the one year deadline to cure deficiencies has run. According to the Claims Board, this will take at least one more year or more to complete.F. UPDATE ON NOTICE OF INTENT CLAIMS
Notice of Intent Claimants are subject to the Consent Order approved by the District Court on September 7, 2007. The Consent Order provides that all NOI claimants who have a Dow Corning breast implant have until October 21, 2008 to submit claim forms and supporting documents for Proof of Manufacturer, Explant and Rupture. Approved NOI Explant and Rupture claims are paid out of a separate fund totaling $30 million.
The Settlement Facility reports that a significant number of NOI claimants have not yet filed claim forms. All NOI claimants are urged to submit their claim forms and documents as soon as possible. Currently, there is no backlog to review NOI claims and, if your claim is approved, you can receive payment promptly.
G. PREMIUM PAYMENTS FOR DOW CORNING BREAST IMPLANT CLAIMANTS
The Settlement Facility recently posted on its website the Executive Summary of the report from the Independent Assessor for the first quarter of 2008. It states:
The Independent Assessor of the Settlement Facility - Dow Corning Trust (SF-DCT) reviewed the liabilities and assets of the facility as of the end of the first quarter of 2008 and estimated that the facility would remain solvent under each of a range of liability and asset assumptions tested. Until patterns of filing and claims acceptance become more certain, use of the current estimates for the purpose of determining whether premium payments can be made is premature.
The CAC continues to receive a large number of calls and inquiries about when Premium Payments will be paid. The CAC has stated they do not know when Premium Payments for Dow Corning breast implant claimants will be approved or paid. As the CAC has stated in past newsletters, the decision to recommend to the District Court that Premium Payments be made is up to the Finance Committee and is based on the Independent Assessor's report.
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