10/6/2010
Florida – At the forum at Pensacola Beach, which was sponsored by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, it was discussed that if you have already filed a claim at the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, it is not a hindrance for you in filing a lawsuit against BP.
Various forums are scheduled to be held at Gainesville, Holmes Beach and Panama City.
These forums discuss the processes involved in filing claims, as well as provide a one-on-one time with the lawyers who are retained to represent FRLA on spill claims, as well as its members.
One attorney said that it would be much quicker to run it with the $20 billion fund run by Kenneth Feinberg. However, the administrator of said fund had been daunted by both fraudulent and legitimate claims, which has slowed down the process of getting the money to reach people who truly deserve it.
There are about 104,000 applicants, a third of which, have to do so much more in order to substantiate their claims on said funds. Some claims do not reflect the real value of what was really lost, like a fisherman’s claim for $10 million, which was obviously should have only been for a thousand dollars.
The forums sponsored by FRLA emphasized that filing a lawsuit is not a bar for filing claims against the fund. One lawyer, Amada Slevinki, said that filing for a claim would be a “long and laborious process” but the process can be expedited when handled by experienced firms who have the right manpower.
