Feinberg's Independence From BP Questioned

Feinberg's Independence From BP Questioned

NEW ORLEANS (CN) - A legal expert says aspects of BP's oil spill compensation fund made through its Gulf Coast Claims Center "do not comport with the usual standards for transparency and fairness." Kenneth Feinberg's law firm receives $850,000 a month while Feinberg oversees claims for BP. Tulane law professor Edward Sherman was hired by plaintiff counsel to determine whether the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is meeting expectations.
Sherman made the statement in a 5-page declaration submitted to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is hearing the consolidated complaints stemming from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.
Sherman wrote that a claims center should be established with standards of "independence, neutrality, and experience," should adhere to judicial supervision, and should be transparent about where its funding comes from.
Claimants should be told Feinberg was hired by and is paid through BP, Sherman wrote. He says this would help claimants determine for themselves whether Feinberg's statement that claimants are better off not litigating may be influenced by Feinberg's contract with BP.
Sherman's 5e-page statement is followed by an 11-page Curriculum Vitae that lists his legal expertise, including his former position as Dean of Tulane Law School, a teaching fellowship at Harvard Law, his alma mater, and an extensive list of publications, including casebooks for law schools. His experience included complex litigation, civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution. He has served as counsel, consulted with counsel, or served as an expert witness in a large number of class actions and complex litigations in federal and state courts.
Sherman claims the monthly $850,000 "fee arrangement" between BP and Feinberg's law firm, Feinberg Rozen LP, "contrasts with the usual method of payment of special masters, who are paid on an hourly basis according to the prevailing market rates in the community."