Dow Corning Class Action
NEWS UPDATE 08/18/08
The areas that will be covered in this newest update are as follows:
A -Deadline Reminders
B -Recent Ruling by District Court regarding Rupture Appeals
C -Pending Motions
D -Status of Disease Processing at the Settlement Facility
E -Class 7-Silicone Material Gel Claims
F -Update on Notice of Intent Claims
G -Premium Payments for Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants
A- DEADLINE
REMINDERS
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)
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.