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Welcome to the new Claimants' Advisory Committee (CAC) website! We have redesigned the former Tort Claimants' Committee website to provide you with current information concerning the settlement and litigation options in the Settlement Facility-Dow Corning Trust (SF-DCT). We welcome all comments and questions so that we can make this website informative and useful as the Settlement Facility begins the process of issuing award letters and payments.

Today, the Court entered the "Agreed Order Resetting Cure Deadlines." To download a copy of the Order, click.

For most groups of claimants, this is the FINAL extension for curing deficiencies in EXPLANT, RUPTURE, and CLASS 9/10 claims (Class 9/10 is for COVERED OTHER PRODUCT CLAIMS such as hip, knee, etc.).

EXPLANT The proposed deadline to cure deficiencies in EXPLANT claims where the cure deadline either has already run or will run on or before March 18 is March 19, 2007. Claimants affected by the Agreed Order who do not cure their Explant deficiency on or by March 19, 2007 will have their Explant claim permanently denied.

RUPTURE The proposed cure deadline to cure deficiencies in RUPTURE claims is staggered based on the type of deficiency a claimant received. Please read this carefully:

Category A - claimants who received a Notification of Status letter from the SF-DCT stating their either (1) their Rupture claim was deficient because they did not submit the operative or pathology report required by the Plan, or (2) did not have their Dow Corning implant removed, AND whose cure deadline has or will run on or by March 18, 2007 will have a new and final cure deadline of March 19, 2007.

Category B - claimants who are not in Category A and who have a cure deadline that has already run or will run on or before May 6, 2007 will be in Category B. Beginning on February 1, 2007, the Claims Administrator will identify groups of claimants in Category B and provide them with at least 90 days notice of a new cure deadline. Thereafter, on a monthly basis, the Claims Administrator will send notices to the next group of claimants in Category B and identify a final cure deadline that is at least 90 days from the date of notice.
Claimants who do not cure their Rupture deficiency on or before the deadline in their new Notification letter will have their Rupture claim permanently denied.

DISEASE Claimants with a disease claim whose cure deadline has or will run on or before June 17, 2007 will have a new cure deadline of JUNE 18, 2007. The Claims Administrator and parties are working to finalize a document suitable for distribution to claimants concerning disease and disability criteria. After distribution of this document, the Claims Administrator and parties will establish a schedule for final cure deadlines for all disease claims in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2.

CLAIMANTS IN CLASSES 9 AND 10 (COVERED OTHER PRODUCTS) Claimants in Classes 9, 10.1 and 10.2 whose cure deadline has or will run on or prior to February 19, 2007 will have their cure deadline re-set to February 20, 2007. This is a final extension of cure deadlines for claimants in Classes 9, 10.1 and 10.2. Claimants in this group who do not submit the required documentation on or by February 20, 2007 will have their claim permanently denied.

On June 21, 2006, the Court entered an Agreed Order further extending all cure deadlines that have already run or that will run prior to January 16, 2007 to January 17, 2007. A copy of the Order can be downloaded by clicking This Order replaces and supercedes the order that re-set cure deadlines to July 17, 2006.

Also, on May 31, 2006, the CAC filed a motion seeking an extension of the June 1, 2006 deadline for certain groups of claimants with regard to the Rupture Deadline, and the Class 7 and 9/10 deadline. A copy of the motion and related pleadings, as well as a copy of a motion filed by the Siegel Kelleher law firm that also seeks an extension of the deadline can be viewed by clicking on the "Pending Motions" heading on this website and scrolling down to the appropriate motion. The Siegel Kelleher motion also requested the court to allow expert reports documenting rupture such as those prepared by Dr. Pierre Blais. The CAC supports this motion and filed a Response asking the Court to allow expert rupture reports.

Additional pleadings on the Disability A dispute and Release claims will be posted to the CAC website next week. We also plan to issue our next newsletter on July 6, 2006. If you have not registered to receive a free copy of the newsletter, you can do so now by clicking on E-Newsletter or by sending us an e-mail at: info@tortcomm.org.

On May 31, 2006, the CAC filed a motion seeking an extension of the June 1, 2006 deadline for certain groups of claimants. You can read a copy of the motion by clicking on the heading "Pending Motions" and scrolling to the title, Motion for Extension.

In addition, a motion to toll the rupture deadline and a request for an extension of deadlines to cure deficiencies was filed by the law firm of Siegel, Kelleher & Kahn. A copy of the motion is also available under "Pending Motions" and scrolling to the appropriate title, Motion of Siegel Kelleher to Toll the Rupture Deadline.

The deadline to file a rupture claim for a ruptured silicone gel Dow Corning breast implant is June 1, 2006. If you need a copy of the claim form, you can download it by clicking. Only claimants with Dow Corning breast implants are eligible for rupture. Do not submit the form for the rupture of any other brand of implant.

It is very important to submit the Rupture form so that it is received by the SF-DCT in Houston, TX by June 1, 2006. If you do not have your product identification yet but you have a ruptured silicone gel breast implant, you should consider submitting the form by the deadline. You can always obtain Proof of Manufacturer of a Dow Corning implant at a later date and submit it then. This is particularly true for those claimants awaiting positive identification of their implants from an expert who is examining their implants.

On May 15, 2006, the Court entered Scheduling Order No. 2 Regarding Certain Disputed Late Claims. A copy of the Order is on this website under "Court Orders." The Order only applies to disputed late claims listed in Exhibit 1. If your name is not on Exhibit 1, then you may disregard this Order because it does not apply to you.

On March 16, 2006, the CAC filed an omnibus motion on behalf of claimants who signed a "release" document from 1992 - 1995 seeking to invalidate the release as unconscionable. A copy of the Motion for Declaratory Judgment, Memo in Support and the exhibits thereto are now available for download under "Pending Motions." If you are or represent a claimant who may be covered by this motion, please contact us at info@tortcomm.org.
In addition, the CAC has posted a list of acceptable Affirmative Statements from doctors regarding their use of Dow Corning implants. To view or download this list, click on "Product Identification" and the chart is listed there.

Additional translations of the CAC newsletters have also been posted as of today. Please click on "Translations" to view all of the available translations.

We are also informed that the email address for the MDL 926 Claims Office has changed. The new address is: claimsoffice926@aol.com. The email address for the Settlement Facility is the same:info@sfdct.com.
APRIL 11, 2006

We have posted translations of the CAC newsletter into French, Portguese, Spanish, German, and Swedish. Click on "Translations" to view or download a copy.

On March 31, 2006, the Court entered an Agreed Order extending cure deadlines for all persons who received a deficiency notice on their claim and were required to cure that deficiency on or before July 16, 2006. The new cure deadline for persons whose cure deadline has either expired or will expire before July 16, 2006 is July 17, 2006. The previous extension date was April 17, 2006. A copy of the Order can be viewed or downloaded under "Court Orders" on this website. Please note that the cure deadline extension is not the same thing as the Rupture and Class 7/9 deadline of June 1, 2006. The June 1, 2006 deadline has NOT been extended.
In addition, the Court entered Scheduling Order No. 1 for certain disputed late claimants. Only late claimants who will receive a letter about their status need to comply with this Order. Late Claimants are those persons who either did not file a timely Proof of Claim by January 15, 1997 or November 30, 1999 or a timely Notice of Intent form by August 30, 2004. A copy of the Scheduling Order is on this website under "Court Orders."

On May 23, 2005, the Court entered three Agreed Orders that pertain to the rescission of opt-out claims by certain Korean claimants, additional Q&A's concerning attorney fees, and a service list for motions filed in the case. You can download or view the Orders under "Court Orders."

If you would like to receive a copy of the CAC's E-Newsletter, please register by clicking on this website and completing the on-line form.

Wendy Trachte-Huber, SFDCT claims administrator, announced her resignation effective April 22, 2005. Ms. Trachte-Huber supervised the claims facility during set up and initial claims review but is returning to academia and consulting in management and conflict resolution.

Referring to the claims facility, Ms. Trachte-Huber said, "This has been a challenging and exciting position. I am proud of the staff and their commitment to serving the needs of claimants. I'm confident that will continue under the new leadership."

Until a replacement is named, Ann Phillips, claims operations manager, who has been with the claims office since its inception in 2001, will oversee daily operations under the supervision of the Finance Committee. It is expected there will be no interruption in claims payment or services to claimants.

In addition, the services of Claims Management Resolution Corporation and Analysis, Research & Planning Corporation have been retained to assist in operations and ensure uninterrupted claims payment.

Over the last six months, the CAC has received thousands of emails, letters and phone calls from claimants and counsel regarding the slow processing and payment of claims at the Settlement Facility. We have also reviewed claims data and information provided to us in monthly reports generated by the Settlement Facility. Since July 2004, the CAC has expressed our deep concern to the management at the Settlement Facility on numerous occasions about the slow rate of processing and other processing problems. Frankly, we were disappointed with the answers we received.

We met with representatives of Dow Corning who are on the official committee called the Debtor's Representatives. They shared our and your concern that claims processing and payments appeared to be progressing very slowly. In December 2004, the CAC and Debtor's Representatives wrote a joint letter to the Finance Committee detailing our concern about, among other things, the claims processing and payment delays. We also requested an outside management consultant be hired to review the claims processing procedures at the Settlement Facility and report back on his findings and recommendations. On January 26, 2005, the Court authorized the Finance Committee to hire Claims Management Resolution Corporation "to conduct a claims and operations audit of the Settlement Facility Dow Corning Trust (SF-DCT). (A copy of the order will be posted on the CAC website under "Court Orders.") The formal report is expected soon, and we are hopeful that the report will lead to major changes and improvements.

Here is what we have learned thus far from our own investigation. The Settlement Facility informs us that they are current on processing Proof of Manufacturer Claims for Dow Corning breast implant claims through November 2004. They are not currently reviewing Proof of Manufacturer (or underlying claims) for Class 7 - Silicone Gel Claimants. Explant, Rupture and Disease claims have a significant backlog. Currently, the Settlement Facility is processing claims submitted in the spring of 2003, and there are in excess of 50,000 total pending claims in Class 5, 6.1 and 6.2 alone.

We have communicated to the Settlement Facility that this backlog, the slow rate of processing and paying claims, and the lack of any processing for Class 7 and 9 is unacceptable. We have also expressed our concern with the way the claims appear to be interpreted and found deficient whereas similar claims in the Revised Settlement Program were paid. The CAC has filed a number of motions with the Court that (1) seek to force the Settlement Facility to reveal the criteria they are using to interpret claim submissions and to toll any cure deadline for persons who were not provided accurate information, (2) toll the cure deadlines for requests for re-reviews that are pending in excess of 21 days, and (3) to add an additional proof of manufacturer protocol for Dow Corning breast implants for implantations done in the U.S. prior to 1970. Each of these motions can be read or downloaded on the CAC website under "Pending Motions." Claimants and counsel have reported to us that they were able to schedule a time to speak directly with one of the two nurse reviewers at the Claims Assistance Program who have provided detailed information needed to cure a deficiency. We urge all claimants who have a cure deadline running to make use of this service by calling Claims Assistance (1-866-874-6099) and asking to speak directly to a nurse reviewer.

Also, as of today, the CAC is posting information about the status of claims payments and opt-out information. We are pleased to report that the number of opt out claims is very small (approximately 800) and is much less than anyone expected. The news media has also begun to report on the slow processing. The Detroit Free Press, Midland Daily News (Midland, Michigan) and the AP wire service all ran stories yesterday. The AP story appeared in many major newspapers today. For more information about the media reports, please go to http://www.freep.com/index/health.htm and http://www.ourmidland.com (to read the full story, you must register at no cost and no obligation and then search for Dow Corning). For information about the current claims data on paid claims, please go to the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org) and click on "Claims Data". We are working to release more information on the status of pending claims and will update the CAC website - and send out additional e-newsletters - when this information becomes available.

The CAC remains committed to taking whatever action is necessary to address the problems we believe exist within the Settlement Facility and to ensure that claims are processed quickly, efficiently, and in the same manner that claims in the Revised Settlement Program were processed and paid.

On February 7, 2005, the Claimants' Advisory Committee filed a number of motions that may pertain to your claim. The motions seek to toll the cure deadline for all requests for re-review that are pending and seek to amend the Plan to adopt a new proof of manufacturer protocol for implantations done in the United States prior to 1971. A copy of these and other pending motions is located on the CAC website under a new topic heading titled "Pending Motions."
There are a number of additional important updates and developments which we will include in our next electronic newsletter which should be available on Monday, February 17, 2005. If you have not yet subscribed to receive a free copy of the e-newsletter, sign up now by clicking on "E-Newsletter" link on this website.

The CAC issued its most recent E-Newsletter on January 5, 2005. If you have not received a copy, you may subscribe by clicking on the link on this website toYou can also read a copy of past editions of the newsletter at that link as well.

REMINDER: The CAC will host a meeting of claimants and attorneys on January 21, 2005 in Orlando. Check our website for further details.

If you have questions or need assistance in completing the Litigation Facility questionnaire, please contact Jeff Condra at the Office of Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel (click on Links to Related Websites for email information about the Office of Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel). This office, established to help plaintiffs and their lawyers in breast implant and other silicone-related litigation in MDL-926, cannot represent you or act as your lawyer. They can, however, answer your questions and give you some assistance in completing the questionnaire.
DECEMBER 10, 2004

This week, the Claimants' Advisory Committee filed a Motion For The Disclosure of Substantive Criteria Created, Adopted and/or Being Applied by the Settlement Facility and Request for Expedited Consideration with the District Court. A copy of the motion can be viewed or downloaded under the heading of "Other Downloads" on this website. A similar motion has been filed in the MDL proceedings before Chief Judge U.W. Clemon this week as well.
Counsel for some Class 6.2 claimants filed a motion seeking adjustment of the attorney fee limits similar to the motion that was filed and approved by the Court for Class 6.1 claimants. A copy of that motion can also be found under "Other Downloads."

Final numbers for the persons who elected to opt-out to litigate are not yet available because many claimants still have the 30 days provided in the Plan to change their mind and rescind their opt-out decision. We will post information on the opt-out numbers as soon as number is final.

For planning purposes, we would greatly appreciate it if claimants and attorneys could let us know in advance if they plan to attend. Please send us an RSVP to: info@tortcomm.org.
We are also working on our next newsletter which will be sent on or about December 14th. If you have not signed up for the newsletter and would like to receive a copy, please sign up by clicking on

The deadline to opt-out of the Settlement Option expired yesterday, November 29, 2004. If you did not opt-out of the Settlement Option by returning your Participation Form by overnight mail yesterday, then you are no longer allowed to opt-out and your claim will be placed automatically and permanently in the Settlement Option.

Claimants who did not return a Participation Form will also have their claim placed automatically and permanently in the Settlement Option.

Claimants who did timely opt-out will be sent a letter to confirm their decision. They will be given 30 days to change their election and return to the Settlement Option. If they do not return to the Settlement Option, then their claim will be placed permanently in the Litigation Option and they cannot return to the Settlement Option in the future.

Claimants who sent a timely opt-out election must complete the Litigation Questionnaire by February 28, 2005. A copy of the Questionnaire is available for download on this website. Only opt-out claimants should complete this Questionnaire. Claimants who remain in the Settlement Option do not need to complete it.

The CAC has issued several electronic newsletters which are availble on this website. If you have not yet subscribed (they are available at no cost), you can do so by clicking on E-Newsletter on this page and completing the on-line form. Our primary way of updating this website and informing claimants and attorneys of developments is the E-Newsletter which we publish once a month. Our next E-Newsletter will be issued on or around December 14th.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2004

URGENT NOTICE - ORLANDO INFORMATIONAL MEETING CANCELLED!! Because of the devastating hurricanes that have hit Florida and its neighboring states hard the past several weeks and because of the impending danger from an approaching tropical storm/hurricane Jeanne, the Settlement Facility and Claimants' Advisory Committee have CANCELLED THE ORLANDO INFORMATIONAL MEETING currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 22nd in Orlando. At this time, there are no plans to reschedule the meeting. The full presentation by the Settlement Facility can be downloaded or viewed by logging onto the Settlement Facility website at www.dcsettlement.com. The presentation by the Claimants' Advisory Committee will be summarized in an upcoming e-newsletter. If you have not signed up for the e-newsletter from the CAC yet, we encourage you to do so today. For those who do not have access to the internet to receive the e-newsletter, please send your full name and address to the CAC's P.O. Box at:

The next edition of the CAC e-newsletter is being delayed because of Hurricane Ivan which devastated Alabama and the Florida panhandle this week. CAC attorney member, Ernie Hornsby, resides and practices in Dothan, Alabama and, as of this morning, power was still off in Dothan. We hope he and his family and all residents affected by the hurricane are safe and well. For those who may have lost medical records or documents in the hurricane and storms that resulted, please contact the Claims Assistance Program at info@sfdct.com or by phone at 1-866-874-6099 for replacement claim forms and/or to obtain a copy of your file from the claims office.

We hope to issue the next CAC newsletter on Tuesday, September 21, 2004. The newsletters will continue to be issued monthly.

The Master Complaint and a form "Complaint and Adoption by Reference" have now been added to the section on the CAC website entitled "Opt-Out Information for Litigation." Only those claimants who have opted-out of the Settlement Option need to file a lawsuit. Opt-out claimants can download a copy of these documents and use the form "Complaint and Adoption by Reference" in their individual lawsuit.

The CAC e-newsletters for July 27 and August 17 are also now available on the CAC website under Electronic Newsletter. They contain important information and updates on a number of topics. For more information or to register to receive the CAC e-newsletter, please click on Electronic Newsletter.

We have also posted copies of various motions and responses to those motions that have been filed with the Court on Plan interpretation issues involving tissue expander eligibility and the tolling language in Disease Option 2. We are also in the process of updating the Affirmative Statement chart with names of doctors who used Dow Corning implants exclusively during some period of time. You can check the chart to see if your implanting doctor is on the list to use it for help with your product ID situation. We appreciate and thank the claimants and attorneys who have forwarded us copies of approved affirmative statements so that we can share them with everyone.

This is a final reminder that the deadline to file a Notice of Intent form is August 30, 2004. Also, we would like to remind everyone of the upcoming informational meetings in September. Please scroll down to the June 25th update to see a list of the meeting dates and places.

The second Electronic Newsletter from the CAC was sent by e-mail to thousands of claimants and attorneys on July 13th. We thank all of you who have registered and urge all claimants and counsel to register for future newsletters (to register, click on "Electronic Newsletter" on this webpage). For those who missed the first two issues of the e-newsletter, they are available to read and print on this webpage. The newsletters contain a lot of important information about news and updates in the Settlement Plan and will be the primary way we communicate about developments and issues in the Plan. We have also translated the e-newsletters to German, French and Swedish to assist non-English speaking claimants. We plan to issue the e-newsletter approximately every two weeks.

The CAC website has a new section called "Other Downloads" which contains relevant documents, motions and forms. We urge you to review this new section for information that may pertain to your claim. For example, it contains several "affirmative statements" on Dow Corning breast implant product identification that are actual submissions to the Settlement Facility by claimants. The claimants who submitted these affirmative statements have had their Dow Corning proof accepted by the Settlement Facility, so these samples are good to use as a form if you need to obtain an affirmative statement from your implanting doctor. Other documents posted in the "Other Downloads" section include pending motions on Plan interpretation disputes involving tissue expanders and tolling of the 24 month/5 year criteria in Disease Option 2, and the final Notice of Intent survey (as well as the motions that were filed concerning this dispute).

The Claimants' Advisory Committee ("CAC") mailed its first electronic newsletter on July 1, 2004 to claimants and attorneys who registered for the newsletter by July 1, 2004 at 10 a.m. Central Time. A second supplemental mailing was sent to those who registered by July 2, 2004 by 10 a.m. Central Time. If you registered after July 2nd at 10 a.m. Central Time, then you will be on the mailing list for the next CAC e-newsletter which should be available on or about July 13, 2004. In the meantime, you can read the first CAC newsletter by clicking on Electronic Newsletter on this site and scrolling down to the appropriate link. If you believe that you registered before July 2nd at 10 a.m. Central time but did not receive a copy of the newsletter, please re-register. We did receive a number of partial and incomplete email addresses. Other email addresses returned the newsletter to us because the "spam" filter on the recipient's computer rejected it. Please adjust the setting on your computers to allow for delivery of this newsletter.

The CAC has also been informed of websites that are selling forms and access to information in the Dow Corning bankruptcy case. There is no need to purchase any form or any information in this case. All forms and information are free by contacting the Settlement Facility directly at info@sfdct.com. If you paid money to receive forms or information in this case, please let us know by contacting us at: info@tortcomm.org. Also, all official information about this case, eligibility criteria, deadlines, class type, compensation payments, etc. is available through this website and the Settlement Facility. Please do not be misled by other websites with similar sounding names that claim to provide accurate information or that sell information. This information is free to you.

The Claimants Advisory Committee has established an electronic newsletter to be sent by email to those who sign up for it. All names and email addresses will be kept confidential and will not be shared outside of this settlement. The newsletter will contain updates and new developments concerning the Settlement and Litigation Options, including information on claims processing, criteria, new protocols, and payment. We will also address frequently asked questions and provide feedback on common issues of interest.

To sign up to receive a copy, click on this website and complete the form. The first e-newsletter will be sent by e-mail on July 1, 2004.

The Settlement Facility has scheduled meetings for claimants and attorneys to attend to provide information about the Settlement Option. The meetings are open to any claimant or attorney (paralegal) who represents a claimant -- and will focus on the settlement options available to persons with a Dow Corning breast implant and/or a Dow Corning Covered Other Product. The meetings will not focus on Class 7 (Silicone Gel Claimants) or on the litigation option.

The Claimants' Advisory Committee will be present to provide additional information about the settlement and litigation options at each of the meetings as well, and to answer questions. The schedule of informational meetings is listed below:

• RSVP required for Houston sessions. Please email Claims Assistance at info@sfdct.com or call 1-866-874-6099 to notify a representative which Houston meeting you will attend.
  ** The Settlement Facility is considering additional claimant meetings providing there is sufficient interest. Please email the Claimants' Advisory Committee with requests for additional meetings in a specific city at: info@tortcomm.org.

The first batch of payments to approved claimants was mailed June 15th. Additional payments will be mailed in early July 2004 and following at least monthly thereafter until all claims have been reviewed. Only claimants who received an award letter on or about June 1, 2004 will receive a payment in the June 15th mailing. Additional award letters and checks will be mailed, so please be patient.

If you have received a letter identifying a deficiency in your claim, then payment cannot be made until the deficiency is corrected. Please remember that there are very short time deadlines to cure a deficiency, so please take action immediately to submit additional documentation to cure the problem.

If you have not yet submitted claim forms or submitted them only recently, then you will probably not receive a status letter on your claim prior to the opt-out deadline of November 29, 2004. This is because claims are reviewed in the order that they are submitted, and there are tens of thousands of claims that are currently in line for processing. Claimants who know now that they want to remain in the Settlement Option must submit a Participation Form with the Settlement Option (Box 2A) checked for their claims to be reviewed and a status letter issued.
Payments will be issued separately for explant, rupture, and disease or expedited release. Therefore, if you submitted a claim for both explant and rupture and received only one award letter or one payment for explant for example, please be patient. You will receive a separate letter on the status of your rupture claim and on any other claim that you submitted.

URGENT INFORMATION FOR NOT-COVERED OTHER PRODUCTS CLAIMANTS
Dow Corning has provided the Settlement Facility and CAC with a list of products that it manufactured that are NOT eligible for compensation in the Class 9 /10.1 /10.2 Settlement Option (Class 9/ 10.1 and 10.2 are for claimants with a Dow Corning "Other Product" such as a hip, knee, chin, etc. implant). If you are in Class 9, 10.1 or 10.2, please review the list of not-Covered Other Products and the list of Covered Other Products (click on the link on this page called "Class 9, 10/1 and 10.2). As noted, claimants with these implants are not eligible for compensation from the Settlement Option; your only option is specified in the Litigation Facility Agreement at Section 5.2(a)(1) which states that:

"Claimants holding Children Direct Claims, Miscellaneous Raw Material Claims, and Other Products Claims which are not Covered Other Products Claims have no settlement offer but have only the litigation option."

Also, the Amended Joint Disclosure Statement provides at Section 6.4(H) that:

"Non-Settling Personal Injury Claimants, parties asserting Assumed Third Party Claims, Miscellaneous Raw Material Claimants and Other Products Claimants whose Claims do not arise from use of a Covered Other Product will have their Claims resolved through the procedures established by the Litigation Facility Agreement and the Case Management Order."

Claimants with a Dow Corning Other Product that is not a "Covered" Other Product (in other words, claimants whose only eligible implant or product is one listed on the chart included on this website under the heading "Class 9, 10.1 and 10.2) must file a lawsuit against the Litigation Facility, Inc. if they wish to pursue compensation. For example, silicone injection claimants are not offered any settlement benefits and are considered as not-Covered Other Product Claimants.

Currently, there is a dispute between Dow Corning and the CAC over whether a not-Covered Other Product claimant needs to complete the Participation Form and elect Box 2B (litigation) and return it to the Settlement Facility on or before November 29, 2004, or whether these claims are automatically considered opt-outs and are channeled to the Litigation Facility. To ensure your rights are protected, the CAC urges all claimants with a not-Covered Other Product who wish to pursue compensation to first contact an attorney for legal representation, to affirmatively opt-out by November 29, 2004, and to read the Case Management Order for information about deadlines and procedures to file a lawsuit against the Litigation Facility.

DOW CORNING SPONSORED CLINICAL STUDY PARTICIPANTS

If you participated in a Dow Corning sponsored clinical study and received a Dow Corning implant but are having difficulty documenting this and the Settlement Facility rejected your Proof of Manufacturer documents about participating in a Dow Corning clinical study, please contact the CAC by clicking on the "Contact Us" link. We are investigating this issue now to determine if it can be added to the protocols for acceptable proof. Please provide specific information about the name of the doctor, hospital, the clinical study date, and any documents you received about participating in the clinical study (such as a consent form or follow-up information) including any correspondence from Dow Corning or Dow Corning Wright.

The CAC has worked with Dow Corning and the Settlement Facility to establish a pilot program for claimants to submit their removed implants to Dow Corning for possible acceptance of Proof of Manufacturer. To be eligible to participate, you must agree to settle your claim in the Settlement Option (or have submitted a Conditional Waiver of Opt-Out Right Form), provide documents showing that your implants were in fact removed, and you must have your implants sterilized (to comply with applicable U.S. Postal and Department of Transportation regulations). For more information about this pilot program, contact the Claims Assistance Program at: info@sfdct.com.

The Claims Administrator for the Settlement Facility informs us that they are currently experiencing a very heavy volume of telephone calls to the Claims Assistance Program which may make it difficult for callers to get through with their questions. The Settlement Facility has extended calling hours and hired additional personnel to handle the volume, but the bottom line is patience is requested of everyone. The Settlement Facility has received tens of thousands of phone calls over the past week, and everyone at the Settlement Facility is working very hard to respond to each individual claimant's questions. A new interactive system for claimants to check on the status of their claim will be available by January 2005, and this should significantly ease congestion of the telephone systems.

The best time to call (lowest call volume) is Thursday and Friday.

You can send questions by e-mail to the Claims Assistance Program at: info@sfdct.com (We are informed that they are current on responding to inquiries sent by e-mail.)

Check the Settlement Facility website (www.dcsettlement.com) for information and answers to your questions. The SF website contains a number of new "Questions and Answers" as well as the final Plan Documents (the Final Plan Documents can also be viewed on the CAC website by clicking on the link provided above).

When you access the answering system, please do not dial "0" to reach the operator. This will direct you outside of the Claims Assistance Program and you will have to re-dial to be reconnected.

Award letters for approved claims were sent to claimants on June 1st, with checks set to be mailed June 15th. Claimants who applied for several types of compensation benefits, such as Explant and Rupture, will receive separate award letters for each such benefit. For example, the Explant award letter will only refer to the review of the Explant claim. A separate letter will be sent on the Rupture claim submission. We realize that this is different from how the MDL Claims Office issued letters and has caused some confusion. Again, be patient as claims are processed. You will eventually receive an award or Notification of Status letter for each benefit category that you applied for.

Award letters will include excerpts from the Claimants Information Guide (CIG) booklet on allowable attorneys' fees and expenses for claimants who have retained private counsel to represent them. Attorneys' fees are not allowed on the Explant or Expedited Release Payments, and there are limits on attorneys' fees as follows: 10% of the first $10,000 received 22.5% of the next $40,000 received, and 30% of any amount over $50,000

Bankruptcy Court Judge Spector issued the Confirmation Order approving the proposed Plan of Reorganization on November 30, 1999. In it, he provided that claimants who filed on or before November 30, 1999 either a motion or letter with the court requesting an extension or permission to file a late claim or a "Notice of Intent" under Bankruptcy Rule 3005 would be permitted to file a "Proof of Claim" form by a certain deadline and therefore be considered a timely filed claim. On May 13, 2004, United States District Court Judge Hood authorized Dow Corning to mail notice to such claimants. This notice was mailed May 14, 2004. Claimants who received this Notice must file a Proof of Claim form by August 12, 2004 or their claim will be barred forever and they will have no rights to pursue any claim against Dow Corning, the Reorganized Dow Corning, the Released Parties, the Settlement Facility-Dow Corning Trust, or the Litigation Facility, Inc.

The CAC has been informed that approximately 4,335 Notices were mailed and at least 806 of them have been returned as undeliverable. It is imperative that claimants who filed either a motion or letter with the court on or before November 30, 1999 requesting an extension or permission to file a late claim or who filed only a "Notice of Intent" form on or before November 30, 1999 contact the Settlement Facility immediately if they have not received this Notice so that they can obtain a Proof of Claim form.

If you filed a Proof of Claim form prior to 11/30/99 and received confirmation from Daticon, then you do not need to file anything else.

There are a number of Plan interpretations that are still disputed between the CAC and Dow Corning and may therefore be holding up processing of some claims and/or Notification of Status letters. Some of these issues are:

whether tissue expanders are eligible to receive compensation as "Breast Implants";

whether the tolling language in Disease Option 2 is limited to tolling just the 5 years immediately preceding the submission of the claim or whether the tolling also applies to the "single 24-month period" for documenting qualifying symptoms;

whether unmatched Notice of Intent claimants are eligible to participate in the Settlement Facility.

There are procedures in place to resolve some of these types of disputes, and we hope to report on their outcome within the next 30 days. In the meantime, claims affected by these issues are being temporarily held for processing.

On May 20, 2004, Judge Denise Page Hood signed an Order authorizing the payment of First Priority Payments of Allowed Claims beginning on the Effective Date (June 1) and continuing until further order of the Court. This means that the Settlement Facility offices are now authorized to begin issuing payments to those claimants whose claims have been submitted and who have acceptable proof. For more information about the status of your claim, you can contact the Claims Assistance Program by visiting their website at www.dcsettlement.com or by calling toll free to 1-866-874-6099.

The Judge also issued an Order recognizing the appointment of the Claimants' Advisory Committee that was appointed by the Special Master. As noted earlier, the Committee consists of: Sybil Niden Goldrich, Ernest Hornsby and Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez. In addition, Melissa Ferrari was designated as the Foreign Claimant Liaison Counsel to the Claimants' Advisory Committee and will assist the Committee on issues involving non-United States claimants.

On May 14, 2004 the Claimants Advisory Committee ("CAC") was appointed pursuant to the Amended Plan of Reorganization. The Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization created this committee to assist in all aspects of implementing the Plan including advising and assisting the Settlement Facility, Claims Administrator, the Finance Committee and the Litigation Facility on all matters of mutual concern. The members of the Claimants' Advisory Committee are:

Sybil Niden Goldrich, tort claimant, Los Angeles

Ernest Hornsby, Esq., Dothan, Alabama

Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq., Houston, Texas

The members of the Claimants' Advisory Committee are very knowledgeable about the Settlement Plan and have worked closely on this litigation for the past 12 or more years and specifically have worked closely with the Claims Administrator on all issues related to this case. The Tort Claimants' Committee will be dissolved as of the Effective Date. Inquiries about the Settlement Option and Litigation Option may be directed to the Claimants' Advisory Committee at: info@tortcomm.org.

One of the first things we are working on is supporting efforts to allow payments to begin to approved claimants immediately after June 1st. We are also working closely with the Claims Administrator to hold claimant meetings and educate claimants about the settlement process and their rights.