Sybil Niden Goldrich
Ernest Hornsby, Esq.
Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER
Volume 5, No. 7, July 30, 2008



This is the 47th e-newsletter (Vol. 5, No. 7) from the Claimants' Advisory Committee (CAC) in the Dow Corning bankruptcy Settlement Plan. You were sent a copy of the newsletter because our records show that you requested to be on the mailing list. If you wish to unsubscribe, click here or to reply to this newsletter, send an email to: info@tortcomm.org. Please do not hit "Reply" to this email address. Please use the email address: info@tortcomm.org.

 

Requests for copies of claim forms or inquiries about the status of a claim should be directed to the SettlementFacility at info@sfdct.com or 866-874-6099. The Claimants' Advisory Committee does not have access to individual claimant files to answer these kinds of questions.


 

1.     SETTLEMENT FACILITY PAYMENTS TO CLAIMANTS

 

As of June 30, 2008, the Settlement Facility - Dow Corning Trust reports that 105,117 claimants have cashed checks in the Dow Corning Settlement Fund totalling $1.027 billion dollars.

 

Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 - Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants

 

Checks totalling over $400 million dollars have been cashed by 21,754 approved rupture claimants. In addition, approximately 21,962 approved disease claimants have cashed checks totalling $399,172,323.35. The approval rate for Proof of Manufacturer (POM) continues to remain at approximately 82% for Dow Corning breast implant claims. A breakdown of the payments cashed from June 1, 2004 through June 30, 2008 by class and benefit type is listed below:

 

Cumulative Cashed Checks for Payments to All Classes (including NOI claims)

June 1, 2004 - June 30, 2008

 

Class Rupture Explant Increased Explant Explant Assistance Program Expedited Release Disease Medical Conditions in Class 9/10 Other Products Premium Payment Total
Class 5 $402,965,832.91 $133,271,612.01 n/a $2,636,141.10 $29,463,942.23 $395,652,204.87 n/a n/a $963,989,733.126
Class 6.1 $12,040,350.51 $3,814,179.80 n/a $9,000.00 $2,369,192.01 $3,355,618.48 n/a n/a $21,588,340.80
Class 6.2 $469,000.00 $54,250.00 $156,000 $0.00 $39,900.00 $164,500.00 n/a n/a $883,650.00
Class 6.2: 2 n/a n/a n/a n/a $78,000.00 n/a n/a n/a $78,000.00
Class 6.2: 3 n/a n/a n/a n/a $57,600.00 n/a n/a n/a $57,600.00
Class 7 n/a n/a n/a n/a $21,139,520.00 n/a n/a n/a $21,139,520.00
Class 9 $130,000.00 n/a n/a n/a $ 1,710,145.10 n/a $2,777,500 $13,262,500 $17,880.145.10
Class 10.1/2 $ 6,000.00 n/a n/a n/a $ 139,900.00 n/a $202,875 $933,000 $1,281,775.00
Total $415,611,183.42 $137,140,041.81 $156,000 $2,645,141.10 $54,998,199.34 $399,172,323.35 $2,980,375 $14,195,500 $1,026,898,764.02

 

 

 

Cumulative Number of Checks Cashed for Approved Claims (including NOI claims)

June 1, 2004 - June 30, 2008

 

Class Rupture Explant Increased Explant Explant Assistance Program Expedited Release Disease Medical Conditon (Class 9/10) Other Products Premium Total
Class 5 20,648 26,919 n/a 530 14,888 21,578 n/a n/a 84,563
Class 6.1 1,011 1,287 n/a 3 1,981 349 n/a n/a 4,631
Class 6.2 67 31 52 0 57 35 n/a n/a 242
Class 6.2: 2 n/a n/a n/a n/a 65 n/a n/a n/a 65
Class 6.2: 3 n/a n/a n/a n/a 96 n/a n/a n/a 96
Class 7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 12,499 0 n/a n/a 12,499
Class 9 26 n/a n/a n/a 1,711 n/a 463 467 2,667
Class 10.1/2 2 n/a n/a n/a 234 n/a 60 58 354
Total 21,754 28,237 52 533 31,531 21,962 523 525 105,117

 

 

Class 7 - Silicone Gel Material Claims

 

The Settlement Facility - Dow Corning Trust is near completion of its manual review of Class 7 Proof of Manufacturer forms. There are approximately 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 Settlement Facility has begun issuing Notification of Status letters; however, no Class 7 disease claims can be paid until all disease claims have been reviewed and the one-year time deadline to cure deficiencies has expired. This will take at least another year or more to complete.

 

The total payout from the capped $57.5 million NPV fund through June 30, 2008 is $21,139,520. Approximately 12,499 Class 7 claimants have cashed checks for an Expedited Release Payment ($600), a Foreign Gel Payment ($600) or a Disease Cash-Out Payment ($3,000). Appeals contesting the marshalling requirement remain pending.

 

Class 7 - Silicone Gel Material Claims

# Class 7 Forms Filed

54,713

# of claims that are NOT eligible based on POM review

10,612

# of claims that failed marshalling

29,861

Foreign Gel Claims Approved & Paid $600

688

Expedited Release Claims Approved & Paid $600

6,548

# of Disease Cash-Out Offers of $3,000

7,004

TOTAL PAYMENTS OR CASH-OUT OFFERS

14,240

TOTAL # of Claims Paid (excluding those who rejected the Cash-Out Offer)

12,499

TOTAL AMT PAID as of 05/31/2008

$21,139,520

 

 

Update on NOI Claims Review

 

Notice of Intent (NOI) Claimants are subject to the Consent Order approved by the District Court on September 7, 2007 (a copy of which is available on the CAC website - www.tortcomm.org - under the left navigation tab entitled "Court Orders"). 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 totalling $30 million. To date, 1,730 claims have been approved totalling $12,540,668.

 

The Settlement Facility reports that a significant number of NOI claimants have not yet filed claim forms. We urge all NOI claimants 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.

 

 

NOI CLAIMS              
CLASS 5 & 6.1 & 6.2            
               
  TOTAL FORMS FILED FORMS FILED WITH POM ACCEPTABLE POM APPROVED COMPLETE # CLAIMS PAID TOTAL AMT PAID
RUPTURE 1855 1819 1211 815 1,190 788 $7,895,800
MEDICALLY CONTRAINDICATED 15 14 11   8 0  
EXPLANT 1381 1365 1140 975 1,124 938 $4,624,868
INCREASED EXPLANT 111 111 1     0  
EAP 313 306 242 8 15 4 $20,000
TOTALS 3,675 3,615 2,604 1,798 2,337 1,730 $12,540,668

 

 

2.     URGENT REMINDER OF THE AUGUST 18, 2008 DEADLINE

 

If you previously filed a claim for Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma) that was reviewed and found deficient by the Settlement Facility and you were given a cure deadline of August 17, 2008 or earlier, your final cure deadline is August 18, 2008. If you have any questions about how to cure a deficiency in your Systemic Sclerosis claim, contact the Settlement Facility immediately at their toll free number - 866-874-6099 - and ask to speak to or schedule a call with a nurse reviewer. If you fail to cure any deficiencies in your Systemic Sclerosis claim by your final cure deadline date, then your claim for this disease will be permanently denied.

 

3. STATUS OF DISEASE PROCESSING AT THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY

 

Disease Option 1 processing is essentially current with only a minor backlog of approximately two weeks. Re-reviews (Review of Additional Information or RAI) have a backlog of aproximately 4 months.

 

For Disease Option 2, the Settlement Facilty continues to work to decrease 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.

 

4. INCOMPLETE, MISSING AND INACCURATE ADDRESS PROBLEM AT THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY

 

The Settlement Facility reports a serious and increasing problem it has experienced in trying to locate claimants who have an approved claim ready to be paid who have moved and have not provided the Settlement Facility with a current address. To date, $56 million has gone unclaimed because of this problem. This is also a significant problem for law firms whose clients have moved and did not inform their attorney of their current address.

 

When an award letter or check is returned to the Settlement Facility because of a bad address problem, the Settlement Facility is forced to expend its limited resources to try and locate claimants or, in some cases, attorneys, who have moved or who provided an incomplete or inaccurate address. If you have moved or need to update your address and contact information, please let the Settlement Facility know by writing a letter with your name, SID number, and old/new addresses and other contact information to:

 

Settlement Facility - Dow Corning Trust

P.O. Box 52429

Houston, TX 77052-2429

 

If you are represented by an attorney, please keep your contact information updated with the law firm as well. Many law firms are holding checks either uncashed or on hold in their escrow account waiting to locate a client who has moved.

 

5. PENDING MOTIONS

 

The CAC has not received any rulings to report on the various pending motions. We will update our website with any information as it is received.

 

6. 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.

 

 

We continue to receive a large number of calls and inquiries about when Premium Payments will be paid. The CAC does not know when Premium Payments for Dow Corning breast implant claimants will be approved or paid. As we've reported 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. For more information on the process, please review our past newsletters.

 

7. OTHER DEADLINE REMINDERS!

 

Please mark your calendar with the following claim submission deadlines. Note that different deadlines apply to Notice of Intent (NOI) Claimants and Late Claimants. Please note that most of these deadlines mean that your claim forms and materials must be received by the SF-DCT by the posted deadline. Please mail all forms early enough so that they are received by the deadline listed below. If your claim form is not received by the deadline listed below, you will not be permitted to file a claim later.

 

Deadline Date Type of Deadline
August 1, 2008 Deadline for Other Product Claimants to submit documents to cure any deficiencies in their Proof of Manufacturer.
August 18, 2008 Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for Systemic Sclerosis / Scleroderma (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)
October 20, 2008 NOI CLAIMANTS' Deadline to submit Explant and/or Rupture claims - Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (this deadline only applies to NOI claimants; it does NOT apply to timely filed claimants)
November 3, 2008 Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for General Connective Tissue Symptoms (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)
January 21, 2009 FILING DEADLINE for LATE CLAIMANTS in CLASS 5 AND 6 to submit all claim forms and supporting documents. This deadline only applies to LATE CLAIMANTS in Class 5 and 6.
February 2, 2009 Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for Atypical Neurological Disease Syndrome (ANDS) (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)
March 12, 2009 Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)
April 13, 2009 Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for Atypical Connective Tissue Disease (ACTD) (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)
June 2, 2014 Explant Claims submission deadline for timely filed claimants in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (NOTE: this deadline does NOT apply to NOI claimants or Late Claimants)
June 3, 2019 Disease or Expedited Release Claim submission deadline for all claims in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (this deadline does NOT apply to Late Claimants)

If you would like to read prior CAC e-newsletters, they are available on the CAC website by clicking on “Electronic Newsletter.” We urge you to visit the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org) on a regular basis to download or view relevant documents and read updates and new information. To contact the CAC, send an email to: info@tortcomm.org or send a letter to the Post Office Box address for the CAC at:

Claimants’ Advisory Committee
P.O. Box 665
St. Marys, Ohio 45885

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