Legal Plan of Action for Community Associations

1. File Initial Claim with BP Under the Oil Pollution Act
   1. Submit information for BP claim number.
   2. Gather and submit necessary supporting paperwork, e.g.,
      1. Articles of incorporation
      2. Photos
      3. Plats
      4. Authorization to proceed on behalf of homeowners
   3. Unless the claim is under $5000, the claim will be handled in Maryland as opposed to a local
claims office.
   4. Contact claims office to follow-up with any further requests.
2. Simultaneously, File Action in Federal Court
   1. Class Action – Advantageous to the Numerous Associations Seeking Similar Relief:
      1. Pre-trial proceedings are unified across region; allows for consistent decisions pertaining to
action as a whole.
      2. Costs of litigation will be spread amongst hundreds of cases, as opposed to a single litigant.
   2. Allegations:
      1. Negligence and gross negligence in the maintenance, operation of the Deepwater Horizon.
In addition, for failing to inspect, enforce rules and regulations for safe operations, failing to
mitigate the accident, failing to properly implement the proper safety policies and procedures,
failure to warn, etc.
      2. Strict Liability:
         1. Abnormally Dangerous Activity – The manner in which the Deepwater Horizon was
maintained and operated, thereby creating a high degree of risk of harm to others that
could not be eliminated by the exercise of reasonable care, was not a matter of common
usage, and was inappropriate to the place they were being carried on.
         2. Manufacturing Defect – Specifically in regards to the blowout preventer designed and manufactured by Cameron.
         3. Florida Pollutant Discharge Prevention and Control Act, Fla. State. § 376.011, et seq. – Defendants operated the Deepwater Horizon in such a manner as to create hazardous conditions in the discharge of pollutants, and allowed these pollutants (oil and others) into the Gulf of Mexico. To recover under the Act, a person “need only plead and prove the fact of the prohibited discharge or other pollutive condition and that it occurred.”
3. Upon Denial of Claim, Under-Payment of Claim, or the Lapse of 90 Days, Whichever is Sooner, Amend Complaint to Include Claim Under POA
   1. It is imperative to include all available claims of relief. Our client’s rights to recover under any and all means must be preserved. Although some of these causes of action may seem redundant (i.e., OPA and Florida Pollutant Act), they all have separate and distinct elements to satisfy for recovery, thereby allowing for maximum compensation for the client.

The law firm of Katzman Garfinkel & Berger is filing actions on behalf of any Florida community association, wherever located in the State, and regardless of whether or not that association is or was an association client of KG&B, on a fully contingent basis as a precautionary measure to afford those associations the greatest chance of recovery for losses that may arise out of the BP Oil Spill disaster. Those associations who do file claims against BP through the BP Claim process as well as file in federal court against BP Oil and the other defendants involved with this tragedy, will maintain their “place in line” far ahead of others who have not even contemplated taking action at this time.

Since the representation in this regard is on a fully contingent basis, an association incurs no costs or fees whatsoever unless the firm is successful in obtaining a recovery for the community. If a recovery is obtained, the firm collects its fee pursuant to the terms of its contingency fee agreement with the association. Essentially, it is a “no harm, no foul” situation for associations who choose to be proactive and file on a contingency basis only later to discover that no recovery will be forthcoming as no damage occurred. However, there is significant downside should damages ensue in the coming months or years, recovery be a possibility but an association waited too long to get in line. Associations have no control over the spill, BP’s efforts to contain it and clean it up but they do have control over their own strategy to deal with it as swiftly and decisively as possible to their community’s eventual benefit.

If you would like to review a copy of our Contingency Fee Agreement and a Statement of Client’s Rights for Contingency Fees, please email us at: bpoilinfo@kgblawfirm.com.