Responsible Party Under OPA 90 has 90 days to Pay, Settle, or Deny a Claim
Responsible Party Under OPA 90 has 90 days to Pay, Settle, or Deny a Claim
By: Justin Warner
Edited by: Tiffany Morales
Nguyen v. American Commercial Lines, Inc., 2012 WL 5473741 (E.D. La. 2012)
This case arises from a collision between M/V TINTOMARA and Barge DM-932 on the Mississippi River, resulting in the discharge of oil from the barge. The United States Coast Guard designated American Commercial Lines, Inc. (ACL) as the Responsible Party (RP), pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq. ACL then hired Worley Catastrophe Response, LLC as the claims administrator.Due to the oil discharge, the plaintiffs’ counsel submitted 224 form claim letters to Worley on behalf of commercial fishermen and seafood wholesalers allegedly affected by the oil spill The form claim letters requested compensation for sums between $4,000 and $30,000 for damage to property, loss of profits, loss of earning capacity, and loss of subsistence.. Worley continued to request additional information but did not pay, settle or deny the claims on behalf of the RP.Two years after having submitted the form claim letters to Worley, the plaintiffs initiated an action asserting claims under OPA and the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. In response to this action, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiffs failed to comply with OPA’s presentment requirement.
At issue in this OPA suit is whether the presentment requirement, as a condition precedent to filing suit, has been met. To answer this, the court turned to the definition of “claim” in the Act. A “claim” is a “request, made in writing for a sum certain, for compensation for damages or removal costs resulting from an incident.” Once this is submitted to the Responsible Party or its claims administrator the 90 day period to pay the claim, settle or deny the claim begins (33 U.S.C. Sec. 2713). Once this period has run, the presentment requirement is fulfilled allowing the claimants to file suit or to file a claim with the Oil Pollution Trust Fund.
