Six law firms representing 949 outstanding claims against the American Home Products (AHP) Settlement Trust have objected to a proposed 60-day stay while the court considers a Seventh Amendment to the settlement, saying the stay will delay compensation to people whose claims have been approved as legitimate and are therefore not subject to the proposed amendment.
"There is no legal basis and no real-world need to stop payments of claims not subject to the Seventh Amendment just so that the Seventh Amendment may be approved," the firms say in an objection filed yesterday. "Therefore, Objecting Claimants, many of whom have already been audited, for whom the Trust has already determined have legitimate claims, and who have already received post-audit determinations granting payment of Matrix benefits, object to any stay that would slow the payment of their already approved legitimate Matrix claims."
The objectors say the stay will turn out to be "much more" than the 60 days proposed in a motion filed Tuesday.
"Indeed, the Seventh Amendment calls for a prolonged notice and opt-out period," they say. "During this period, the Trust will most likely have to lay off employees and auditors who are no longer needed, and otherwise take irrevocable steps that will cause delay for months or even a year."
The firms say they do not object to the still-incomplete terms of the proposed Seventh Amendment, which in an attempt to avoid insolvency of the current trust would offer significantly lower levels of compensation than those promised by AHP, now Wyeth, in the 1999 national settlement.
05/07/04
