EAPD’s Greg Hoffnagle is attending the BP Spill in the Gulf: Litigation & Insurance Coverage Conference in Miami, Florida and he is blogging from the conference.

Earlier today, there were several interesting sessions, which addressed issues of fraud, disparate treatment of similar claims, mitigation of damages, improper contact with claimants represented by counsel and “proximity criteria” under the Gulf Coast Claim Facility (GCCF).  The speakers explained that the GCCF is only a portion of the overall liability/damages process and that MDL, Class Actions and individual lawsuits will play a major role in covering all of the alleged losses related to the BP disaster.  Notably, all the panelists  have agreed that the GCCF $20 billion fund will not be enough to compensate all of  the claimants as they expect hundreds, if not thousands, of claimants to come forward in the next year.  Other panelists discussed the definition of “Natural Resource Damage” under the OIL Policy Act and related insurance coverages.

The conference continues tomorrow with panels focusing on first-party and specialty coverage issues.

Please feel free to email Greg if you have any questions.