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Mediator takes reins on gulf oil spill claims

'No more beating up on BP,' Kenneth Feinberg tells claimants. Next week, he will take over from the oil giant the $20-billion fund for spill compensation claims.

August 19, 2010|By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

Feinberg said he would be "extremely lenient" in documentation requirements. "I don't need reams and reams of stuff. But you've got to document your claim. 'Mr. Feinberg, I'm losing $5,000 a month, I can't fish.' Well, document it. 'But it's an all-cash business.' Fine, there are lots of cash businesses. Document it. You have a tax return? Do you have a profit-and-loss statement?"

There were lingering suspicions about Feinberg himself. Shrimp boat owner Ha Nguyen wanted to know how much BP was paying him to take on this job.

"You say you're independent.… But I feel that you have a serious conflict of interest, and the Bible states that one man should not serve two masters," she said.

"Let me ask you a question," Feinberg replied. "How else would you do this? You can't ask the people in this room to pay a fee to participate.…The responsible party, the cause of this, is BP.... I think BP can honor my bills, with all due respect."

kim.murphy@latimes.com

Times staff writer Richard Fausset in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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