ProPublica:
BP Confirms That Thousands of Claims Decisions Will Be Deferred
Earlier this morning, we reported that BP is delaying its decisions about many damage claims from the Gulf oil spill. We wrote that the company is putting off decisions about numerous claims that are not explicitly covered by the Oil Pollution Act, the 1990 federal law holds oil companies for covering direct "removal costs and damages" from a spill, without telling claimants why their claims were put on hold.
In a press release sent out several hours after our story, BP confirmed that many claims will be deferred until Kenneth Feinberg, the independent administrator appointed by President Obama to oversee the compensation process, takes over the claims system in mid-August.
This almost seems reasonable until you remember that BP is also dragging its feet on funding the escrow account.