Feinberg - overpaid.

Four articles - there is a lot going on.

Alabama attorney general plans to sue BP over state revenue lost because of oil spill
Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 7:21 PM
Kim Chandler -- The Birmingham News

Alabama Attorney General Troy King
MONTGOMERY -- Attorney General Troy King said today he will sue BP in an effort to recover revenue the state has lost because of the oil spill in the Gulf.

King said the spill "threatens the funding of our schools, our roads and bridges, our prisons, even Medicaid as tax revenues are impacted by it."

King said he has retained Balch & Bingham LLP to draft the lawsuit in the state's name.

The governor's office has to sign all legal contracts, and King said he has not discussed the lawsuit with Gov. Bob Riley, who is in Europe on an industry hunting trip.

Press Secretary Todd Stacy said the contract will be reviewed by the governor's legal office, but a lawsuit seemed "premature."

Economists still are calculating the spill's long-term financial impact on the state. "Once the calculations are complete, the bill will be sent to BP. It seems premature for the state to sue before we've even sent the bill," Stacy said.

In a press conference with King, both candidates for governor -- Democrat Ron Sparks and Republican Robert Bentley -- said they stand behind King's decision and would pursue the litigation if elected.

King also accused BP of foot-dragging and accused the administrator of the $20 billion Gulf oil spill compensation fund of "proselytizing for BP's interests in eliminating as many claims as he can."

Ken Feinberg, who headed the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, is in charge of a $20 billion pool of money to be set aside by BP to compensate those hurt by the massive oil spill.

King said Feinberg "pretends to negotiate" with coastal attorneys general. "I am prepared to take legal action if necessary to stop Mr. Feinberg from causing further harm to an already traumatized populace unless the president does so first," King said.
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/ala ... plans.html
Feinberg says BP hasn't put money in escrow account yet
Updated: Saturday, July 24, 2010, 5:43 PM
Dan Murtaugh, Press-Register
BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. -- Ken Feinberg said today he hasn't been able to start writing claims checks because BP PLC has not yet deposited any money into the $20 billion escrow fund it promised to create.
Feinberg, who was appointed last month to administer individual and business claims stemming from the oil spill, held an early morning town hall meeting in Bayou La Batre on Saturday before meeting with the Press-Register editorial board in downtown Mobile.

Feinberg said he is leaning toward giving partial payments to companies and people who are indirectly impacted by the spill -- an outlet store in Foley hurt by the decline in beach traffic, for example.

He also said he would do something for real estate owners to cover a decrease in property value.

BP officials and President Barack Obama agreed last month that the oil company would put $5 billion a year over the next four years into an account to pay for spill-related costs, such as claims, environmental restoration and cleanup costs.

BP is the majority owner of the well that has been gushing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20.

Feinberg said he doesn't have the authority to force BP to deposit the money, and that he can't start making payments until it does.

"I don't want the checks to bounce," he said.

He said he has been told that the money would be available in the next week or so.

BP spokesman Justin Saia said the company's agreement with the White House is still being finalized. "Funds will be made available immediately upon the conclusion of this process," he said.

The company has continued to pay claims while Feinberg waits to take over.

As of Saturday it had paid $243 million in claims, according to company records, none of which will be counted against the $20 billion. Feinberg said he doesn't believe theories that the company is slowing down payments so that more money comes from the escrow fund.

"They're an oil company, not a claims company," Feinberg said. "They tried to do the right thing, but they were just overwhelmed."
How it works

Feinberg, who ran victim compensation funds for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Virginia Tech shootings, explained his program to about 100 people at Bayou La Batre's City Hall at 7 a.m. Dozens more tried to get inside but were turned away because the building was full.

Once Feinberg takes over, he will give emergency payments worth six months of lost wages or business income to those with valid claims.

Those emergency payments will stop 90 days after the spill is permanently stopped, he said. Then, anytime over the next three years, a claimant can ask for a lump sum payment that will cover a lifetime's worth of damage from the spill.

To accept the lump sum, the claimants will have to give up their rights to sue BP. Claimants do not give up lawsuit rights when accepting the emergency payments, he said.

Anyone who doesn't believe that his lump sum offer is sufficient for the damage caused by the spill can snub it and sue BP for the amount they believe they deserve, Feinberg said, although he said his program will be far more generous than any court.

Shrimpers, fishermen, oyster harvesters and seafood processors all shared common stories at the meeting -- they lost their livelihoods when the oil spill started more than three months ago. They've gotten promises from BP, they said, but not checks.

Feinberg told several people that he would have approved payments for them already based on what they told him.

"I promise I will try to do right by the people of Alabama," he said. "But conduct, not talk, will determine the success of this program."

DeBruce Nelson told Feinberg that he owned a sandblasting and painting operation in Bayou La Batre, and that boat owners have canceled work with him since the spill began. But because he conducts most of his work through handshakes, not written contracts, he hasn't gotten any relief from BP, he said.

"In this town, a handshake still means something," Nelson said.

Feinberg told Nelson that he doesn't have to have a written contract to get a check, but he does need someone to vouch for the fact that the contract existed. Feinberg also said he planned to hire more local people to work in claims offices so there was a better understanding of the community's traditions.

Nelson said afterward that he was pleased with what Feinberg had to say.

"He seemed to be concerned about the people," Nelson said.

Feinberg said he would base questions of eligibility on three factors -- proximity to the oil, dependence on natural resources such as fish or the beach, and how closely the industry is tied to the effects of the spill.

Fishermen, shrimpers and seafood processors are all easy calls, he said -- eligible. A beach condo owner will be compensated for any lost rent. A seafood restaurant in Daphne that's losing business because people are afraid of finding oil in their shrimp po'boys will also be paid, he said.

But as the connection becomes more indirect, it gets trickier. Feinberg told the pastor of a Bayou La Batre church that he wasn't sure whether he would approve a claim for reduced donations. He said he wasn't sure whether a store in the Tanger Outlet Center would be eligible, either.

Feinberg said that for claims like that, it's likely that he would pay a portion of lost revenue. "If they lost $100,000, maybe pay them $10,000," he said.

Feinberg also said he would do something for real estate owners whose properties lose value, although he wasn't sure what.

On the one hand, he said, an owner hasn't suffered any losses because they still own the property and can wait for value to rebound.

But if he carries that logic to its conclusion, he said, then owners will sell their beach property for a loss and then file a claim. That would then cause a further reduction in property value and would diminish government ad valorem tax bases.

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/feinber ... ey_in.html
Attorney General Troy King critical of feds and BP Gulf spill claims fund
Updated: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 5:39 PM
Charles J. Dean -- The Birmingham News

Associated Press

Attorney General Troy King this afternoon accused the man in charge of deciding damage claims from the Gulf oil spill of being a shill for BP.
That man is Ken Feinberg. President Barack Obama in June put Feinberg in charge of a $20 billion pool of money to be set aside by British Petroleum to compensate those hurt by the massive oil spill.

Share But King told a lunch time audience of about 140 at the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham that the claims process Feinberg is supporting will do more to help BP's than help those who have lost jobs, businesses and a way of life.

"It appears to me right now that he's (Feinberg) shilling for British Petroleum," King said. Of the claims process, King said, "it has to center on the people and the states, not the company."

King said he will meet Friday in Montgomery with the states' attorneys general from Mississippi and Louisiana to write an alternative claims process proposal. King said the AG's from Florida and Texas may also attend the meeting and he hopes Feinberg will come as well. He said Feinberg told him initially that he planned to attend the meeting but now has a conflict.

"...He asked me which meeting he should attend," King said recalling the conversation he had with Feinberg. "I told him he should choose the most important one. I think a meeting of attorneys general from these states would be pretty important."

King warned that if Feinberg does not make changes in the claims process, the Gulf states may have no choice but to sue.

"I hope it doesn't come to that. But, the claims process as it is now must change," King said.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/att ... g_cri.html

[quote]For Kenneth Feinberg, More Delicate Diplomacy

NEW ORLEANS — Kenneth R. Feinberg, hopping in and out a Learjet, a helicopter and several S.U.V.s, took his gift for oratory to four towns in southern Louisiana on Thursday to make his pitch to locals: The $20 billion fund from BP to compensate those harmed by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and they should get their share.


Louisianians at the meeting in Lafitte listening to Mr. Feinberg, who urged them to participate in the compensation program.

Even with that kind of bankroll to pay claims, he was playing the role of salesman and politician.

“This program I am running is absolutely voluntary — nobody has to do it,â€