AG Bondi on audit of GCCF

Press Release: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Provides Recommendations on the Gulf Coast Claims Facility Audit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.–Advocating on behalf of Floridians who have suffered
economic losses in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Attorney
General Pam Bondi today provided recommendations to the U.S. Department of
Justice on the independent audit of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. The
audit, which is expected to begin before the end of this year, was agreed
to by Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator Kenneth Feinberg in response
to prompting by Attorney General Bondi, the Department of Justice, and the
other Gulf Coast states.

“With an objective and comprehensive audit, we can ensure that Floridians
receive the compensation they deserve for economic losses caused by the oil
spill,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi. “For far too long, the Gulf
Coast Claims Facility’s claims process has been cloaked in secrecy with
little information being shared with claimants. I have asked that the
independent audit begin quickly and examine every aspect of the claims
process.”

Attorney General Bondi offered numerous suggestions regarding the selection
of the auditor and the goals and structure of the audit process. In
addition to an expeditious selection of an auditor with no ties to BP or
Mr. Feinberg, the GCCF Administrator, Attorney General Bondi called for the
audit to include a review of:

· Unexplained discrepancies in payments to similarly situated
claimants;

· The documentation required by the GCCF, including requests for
duplicative documentation;

· Whether the GCCF’s delays in processing interim claim payments forced
otherwise unwilling claimants to accept “quick pay” or final
payments, which require the claimant to sign a broad release;

· The treatment of different industries in terms of claims payments;
and

· The extent to which the GCCF imposed a “geographic proximity”
requirement that limited payments in ways not authorized by the
governing federal law.