Churches, Nonprofits File BP Oil Spill Claims

Add churches to the list of entities filing oil spill damages claims against BP. Last month, a pastor at the Anchor Assembly of God church in Bayou La Batre in Alabama, filed a $50,000 claim against BP over lost revenues. So far, he has not received any response from the company.

BP says it has no information about any such claims filed against it, and has no idea how it plans to deal with claims filed by religious organizations and charitable organizations. These entities are facing rough times because people affected by the spill, simply don't have the money to contribute to these causes. According to Pastor Dan Brown of the Anchor Assembly of God church, contributions and tithing have dropped by as much as $12,000 over the past few weeks. He predicts that his little storefront church will lose approximately $30,000 in revenues over the next year.

For many fishing-related businesses along the Louisiana coastline, contributing to church is understandably the furthest thing on their minds. These people are struggling to survive, and those who have filed claims are finding that the compensation is either insufficient to meet their daily needs, or that the check arrives too late during the month. In a situation like this, local churches and other nonprofits are feeling the heat as donations dry up.

BP says it has not yet determined how it will deal with claims filed by nonprofit or charitable organizations. The company says it has already written out more than 42,000 checks totaling $100 million, to meet claims filed by local businesses as well as individuals. However, it says claims by nonprofits and other organizations can be tricky.

As maritime lawyers, we would encourage individuals and businesses or any organizations that have suffered financial losses because of the oil spill, to file a claim even if they're not sure if their claim will be successful. At this point, there are a lot of gray areas about BP oil spill-related claims, and there's no way to tell for sure what kinds of claims will be successful, but we would encourage you to file a claim if you have suffered financial losses because of the spill..