The Florida Self Storage Association (FSSA) will host a free webinar at 2 p.m. ET on April 18 to address the Deepwater Horizon Settlement Program and whether some of the state's self-storage operators might be eligible. Presented by the Economic Recovery Group and self-storage insurance company Bader Co., the online event explains details of this recovery remedy to the BP oil disaster of 2010, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.
On Dec. 21, 2012, the federal court overseeing the litigation from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill granted final approval to a class settlement extending economic damages to businesses as a result of the oil spill. The settlement is estimated to exceed $8.4 billion by the end. BP will pay all valid claims.
Most industries are eligible under the terms of the settlement, however, BP is not required to inform those who may qualify. Self-storage operators in the Gulf Coast states may have a valid petition to participate in the program. "When in doubt, file a claim," said program administrator Patrick Juneau.
There are objective parameters that determine a company's eligibility and complex formulas to discern who was harmed. BP acknowledges that most businesses in the specified zones were harmed directly or indirectly. This means your establishment did not have to be physically touched by oil to have suffered a trickle-down effect.
Registration for the FSSA webinar can be completed by visiting this page.
The FSSA is a nonprofit organization of businesspeople involved in the self-storage industry in Florida. Its members include facility owners, operators, vendors, developers, investors, property managers and suppliers.