FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
February 22, 2011
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Suzanne Webb (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE ASKS FEDERAL COURT TO IMPOSE CONTROLS
ON FEINBERG AND OIL SPILL CLAIMS PROCESS
(MONTGOMERY) -On Friday, Attorney General Luther Strange spearheaded a
coalition of Alabama leaders who asked U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier to exercise more
control over the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and its supervisor, Ken Feinberg, who has been
tasked with compensating Alabamians damaged by the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill.
Attorney General Strange filed a brief with the Court detailing Alabama’s recurring problems
with the GCCF, which he supported with letters of complaints from several key leaders,
including Governor Robert Bentley, Congressman Jo Bonner, and the Mayors of Bayou le Batre,
Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. In his brief, Attorney General Strange called
upon Judge Barbier to impose three new rules upon the GCCF and Feinberg, to rectify the
leaders’ complaints:
- The GCCF must compensate any Alabama business that lost profits “as a result of the oil
spill”, not just those businesses that were “directly” damaged by oil. - The GCCF must publish explicit rules for eligibility and an explicit list of all
documentation required for recovery. - The GCCF must provide, in writing, detailed reasons for denying any claim or offering
any claimant less than 100 percent of his requested damages.
Attorney General Strange outlined how the GCCF has consistently denied Alabamian’s valid
claims by employing unpublished – and likely incorrect – standards, while failing to inform
claimants exactly how to correct their rejected claims. According to Attorney General Strange,
the GCCF claims process has become “an unwinnable game of whack-a-mole” for Alabamians
because each time a claimant corrects one hurdle to relief, the GCCF “pops up another one” to
deny relief.
In calling for the new rules, Attorney General Strange explained that, “We have one primary
objective: ensuring that Alabamians are made whole as quickly as possible. We have long
hoped that the GCCF would fulfill that goal. We still do. But our belief in the Fund process is
flailing.”
The Court has not set a date for a final ruling on Alabama’s request, which was joined by similar
requests from the States of Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.
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501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36130 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
