Editorial: The Gulf Claims Racket
The Wall Street Journal
August 26, 2010
When is $20 billion in ready cash not enough? Answer: When state Attorneys General and the plaintiffs bar are vying for a bigger chunk of the BP compensation fund that is supposed to go to victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
That's the real story behind the headlines about unhappiness over Kenneth Feinberg's terms for payments under the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. As administrator, er, King Solomon of this exercise, Mr. Feinberg has to make difficult judgments as he attempts to compensate genuine victims while not rewarding freeloaders.
