Alabama Attorney General Troy King met with area residents and business owners Saturday to update what has been taking place on the legal front with regards to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The residents and business owners voiced their concerns and frustrations to the Attorney General with the claims process through which BP reimburses businesses for lost income.

King told the audience that he, along with the attorneys general from the other affected Gulf states had negotiated some “tough concessions” from BP as far as eligible reimbursements are concerned. BP has stated they will pay all “legitimate claims” brought by affected residents and business owners. However, King acknowledged that the definition of “legitimate claims” cans sometimes be confusing.

King said he was not satisfied when BP attorneys told him that a legitimate claim was one in which a reasonable person would pay in reasonable time to someone who suffered reasonable harm. He said he told them that definition was something lawyers came up with to confuse everyone else.

King said he, along with the other Gulf Coast attorneys general, have expressed to BP what they expect from the oil giant. “To make Gulf Coast states fully whole,” he said. “That is what we expect them to do.”

When documenting claims for lost income, King told his audience that BP has taken into account that 2009 was a bad year economically. They have agreed to give claimants the option of basing their claims on 2008 or 2009 income. That option did not set well with several of those at the forum. King was told that from early indications, 2010 was going to be the year Alabama's coastal economy recovered from the two previous lackluster years. Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon told King that BP should not be given a choice but to allow claimants to use 2007 income numbers to document losses. King replied that he would certainly push for that option.

King also heard stories of inconsistencies from audience members concerning BP's response to claims. Ron Wainscott of Shore Shooters Beach Photography said when he made his claim he was told photographers could receive a $2,500 advance. Ed Morgan of Grand Photography told King that he and his wife have just opened a store in Orange Beach. When they made their claim to BP, Morgan said they were told they could only receive $1,000 as an advance “until they could sort it out, which could take years.”

King said timeliness was one of the aspects of the claims process he tried to push home to BP attorneys. “That goes against everything they have told me,” he said. “I told them we needed a claims process that paid our people today, not next year. We need something that works now and pays now.”

Kennon said he was frustrated with the reaction of BP with regards to paying claims. “I have frustration that there doesn't seem to be a plan. I don't see a sense of urgency in BP opening up their checkbook,” he said. “We need to have a fund in place now that these people can access. Baldwin county will need $1 billion all by itself.”

Baldwin County School Board Vice President Angie Swiger asked King what steps the School Board needed to take to make a claim to BP for lost tax revenue. She said the county is hiring teachers for next year already, and is dependent on property and ad valorem taxes - both of which will take a hit because of the spill - for funding.

King said reimbursing individuals and businesses has been the highest priority in negotiations up to this point, but talks are underway regarding lost government revenue. “That part's not resolved yet just because the models are so complicated,” King said. “However, BP's pledge to make the Gulf Coast whole we believe goes to the tax base as well.”

King was asked whether it is better to file a claim by telephone or to make a claim in person at a claims processing center. King said while it should not make a difference with regards to the filing mechanism, “but I can't really say” if one is better than the other.

There is a BP claims center open in Foley at 1506 N. McKenzie St. behind Bryant Bank and another claims center will open this week in Orange Beach at 24039 Perdido Beach Blvd. behind Wintzell's Oyster House (the old Ruby Tuesday location).

King said he will keep the pressure on BP to pay claims quickly and fairly. He said he feels a special kinship to the area in which he has vacationed since he was a child and the people who live and work here. “This is my Gulf and this is my Gulf Coast,” he said. “That's my commitment to you.”