Kenneth Feinberg, the man picked by the U.S. government to determine compensation to families of 9/11 victims as well as people affected by the 2010 BP oil spill, spoke Monday at Pepperdine University.
By Sky Yancey / Special to The Malibu Times
Kenneth Feinberg, the man who has been called our nation’s “master of disasters,”spoke this week at the Pepperdine School of Law about his work dealing with many recent national crises. A veteran mediator, Feinberg is best known for his work determining payments to victims as the administrator for both the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the $20 billion escrow account set up after the 2010 BP oil spill.
Feinberg was interviewed by Thomas Stipanowich, the Academic Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution before more than 300 students, alumni and faculty at the law school’s Caruso Auditorium.
Feinberg recounted how then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft asked him to develop and oversee a program of compensation to the families of those killed and to others injured in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The first thing he told victims’ families, Feinberg said, was “I am not placing a value on the moral worth of a human being.”
Part of the payout varied depending on a calculation of what an individual was likely to have made during his or her lifetime, Feinberg said, but each victim was adjudged to have experienced an equal amount of pain and suffering. Each family could opt for a hearing before Feinberg or his staffers, and Feinberg met with 900 of them personally. He said they wanted to “validate the memory of their lost loved one.”
“The number one cause of emotional grief was the absence of a body,”Feinberg said. “There’s nothing to visit at the cemetery. No closure.”
Feinberg said 97 percent of those eligible accepted compensation through the fund. The 94 families that opted not to accept a payout eventually settled without going to trial.
Feinberg’s performance in the grim, delicate task of compensating families of 9/11 victims led to other difficult assignments.
Feinberg served as the administrator of the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, created in the wake of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre in which 32 people died and 40 more injured. He was called by the Governor of Virginia and the president of the university to help them divide up more than $8 million donated by individuals after the tragedy.
After the federal bailout of Citigroup, Bank of America and other leading corporations, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner asked Feinberg to set annual compensation for the 25 top officials of each company. Tabbed the “Pay Czar”(according to Feinberg, “an unfortunate label. My grandmother in Lithuania would be very confused.”), he said Congress’ action was a form of “populist revenge, a one-off expression of anger.”
In 2010 Feinberg accepted the task of overseeing the claims process set up after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In an unprecedented move, BP offered at least $20 billion to settle claims against the company for damages caused by the massive spill. More than one million claims have been made in the past 14 months. Claimants hail from 50 states (including 490 claimants from California) and 38 countries. So far, more than 250,000 people have accepted compensation totally more than 6 billion dollars. Claims can be made until August 2013. More than half of all claims have been denied due to lack of evidence.
When asked why public and private parties constantly assign him the task of dealing with complex legal issues Feinberg responded, “They want to get it done. They want credibility. I am as good as my last assignment. If I don’t do a good job, I am retired.”
After a 90-minute interview and questions from some of the audience members, Stipanowich and Feinberg received a standing ovation. Adjunct law professor Stephanie Bell said later, “I was absolutely riveted by it. He has taken what has been taught in the canon (law) and has adapted it in a way that’s completely inspiring.”
Third-year law student Laura Sambataro said, “This unique experience will serve as a great example to me.”
The event was part of an ongoing celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. The Institute consistently ranks as the number one dispute resolution program in the country.