CLAIM SUMMARY / DETERMINATION FORM

Claim Number : N10036-1411

Claimant : Murphy Washington

Type of Claimant : Private (US)

Type of Claim : Loss of Profits and Earning Capacity

Amount Requested : $25,000.00

FACTS: 

On or about 20 April 2010, the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon (Deepwater 

Horizon) exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of the explosion and sinking, oil 

was discharged. The Coast Guard designated the source of the discharge and identified BP as a 

responsible party (RP). BP accepted the designation and advertised its OPA claims process. On 

23 August 2010, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) began accepting and adjudicating 

claims for certain individual and business claims on behalf of BP.

CLAIM AND CLAIMANT:

On 01 September 2011, Murphy Washington (the Claimant) presented an Optional Oil Spill 

Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) Claim Form to the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) that 

lacked a sum certain. On 03 September 2011, the Claimant submitted a sum certain seeking 

$25,000.00 in loss of profits and impairment of earnings capacity that allegedly resulted from the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

At the time of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Claimant was employed as an Offshore 

Technician for Offshore Cleaning Systems in the Abbeville, Louisiana region.1 The Claimant 

asserted that due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he lost his job at Offshore Cleaning Systems 

and as a result suffered reduced income. 2

The Claimant explained his calculation of his sum certain of $25,000.00 as being his losses over 

the six month period that he was out of work.3

Prior to presenting this Claim to the NPFC, the Claimant filed an Emergency Advance Payment 

(EAP) Six Month Claim with the GCCF for loss of profits and impairment of earnings capacity 

on 14 September 2010 in the amount of $25,000.00.4

 The Claimant was assigned Claimant ID # 

1084332 and Claim ID # 3006096. The EAP claim was denied on 23 October 2010.5

 

Additionally, the Claimant filed a Full Review Final (FRF) Claim with the GCCF for loss of 

profits and impairment of earnings capacity on 20 April 2011 in the amount of $35,000.00.6

 The 

Claimant was assigned Claim ID # 9365114. The FRF claim was denied on 09 September 

2011.7

1 Optional OSLTF claim form received 01 September 2011.

2 Optional OSLTF Claim form received 01 September 2011. 

3 Letter from the Claimant asserting a sum certain of $25,000.00 dated 03 September 2011.

4 Report from the GCCF Dated 06 October 2011. 5 GCCF Denial Letter dated 23 October 2010.

6 Report from the GCCF Dated 06 October 2011.

7 GCCF Denial Letter dated 09 September 2011.

 
REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION:

On December 4, 2011, the Claimant sent a request for reconsideration to the NPFC stating he 

would like the NPFC to reconsider his claim. 

The NPFC denied the claim originally on October 13, 2011 because the alleged loss in the 

amount of $25,000.00 was not due to the injury, destruction or loss of property or natural 

resources as a result of a discharge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil.

The Claimant asserted that due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he lost his job8 at Offshore 

Cleaning Systems and as a result suffered reduced income.9

 In the effort to verify the Claimant’s 

assertion, the NPFC contacted the Claimant’s employer, Offshore Cleaning Systems. In a 

subsequent conversation with Offshore Cleaning Systems, the NPFC was informed that the 

Claimant was not laid-off and that the Claimant did not otherwise lose his job due to the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill.10 Further, Offshore Cleaning Systems stated that the “work force 

may have been reduced due to many economic factors or customer demands, this is common 

during any year. 11 If [the Claimant] suffered a loss of income what is it compared to, [sic] due to 

this being a cyclical industry.”12 Accordingly, the Claimant has failed to prove a connection 

between his purported loss of income and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Furthermore, the Claimant has not proven that he suffered a financial loss due to the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill. Examining the Claimant’s earnings of $32,798.4913 from Offshore Cleaning 

Systems in 2009 compared to the $33,305.2314 that he earned from Offshore Cleaning Systems 

in 2010, the Claimant grossed higher earnings in 2010 than in 2009. Thus, the Claimant has 

failed to prove that he suffered a financial loss in 2010 due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

This claim was denied because the Claimant failed to meet his burden to demonstrate (1) that 

there was an alleged loss in the amount claimed, and (2) that the alleged loss is due to the injury, 

destruction or loss of property or natural resources as a result of a discharge or substantial threat 

of a discharge of oil.

RECONSIDERATION CLAIM ANALYSIS:

The claimant requested reconsideration which was received by the NPFC on December 12, 2011. 

The Claimant provided a one-page letter that requested his claim be reconsidered along with a 

copy of a past due utility bill along with a copy of a check paying the past due bill by the 

Emergency Food and Shelter Program and a letter dated November 28, 2011 from Assist Agency 

that indicated they assisted the Claimant with two house payments. The Claimant provided no 

new information pertinent to his alleged losses in support of his request for reconsideration. 

8 Included in the Claimant’s Optional OSLTF Claim Form is language stating that the Claimant is engaged in an ongoing job search. However, during the NPFC’s subsequent conversation with Offshore Cleaning Systems, the 

NPFC was informed that the Claimant is currently employed by Offshore Cleaning Systems.

9 Optional OSLTF Claim form received 01 September 2011.

10 PHONECON between the NPFC and Offshore Cleaning Systems dated 11 October 2011. 11 Email from Offshore Cleaning Systems to the NPFC dated 11 October 2011. 12 Email from Offshore Cleaning Systems to the NPFC dated 11 October 2011. 13 2009 Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement from Offshore Cleaning Systems, LLC. 14 2010 Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement from Offshore Cleaning Systems, LLC.

 
NPFC Determination on Reconsideration

Under 33 CFR 136.105(a) and 136.105(e)(6), the claimant bears the burden of providing to the 

NPFC all evidence, information, and documentation deemed necessary by the Director, NPFC, to 

support the claim. Under 33 CFR § 136.233, a claimant must establish loss of profits or 

impairment of earning capacity and that the loss was due to the destruction or injury to real or 

personal property or natural resources. The NPFC considered all the documentation submitted 

by the Claimant. The request for reconsideration must be in writing and include the factual or 

legal grounds for the relief requested, providing any additional support for the claim. 33 CFR 

136.115(d). 

The NPFC performed a de novo review of the entire claim submission upon reconsideration. 

The NPFC performed a complete review of the documentation presented by the Claimant. The 

request for reconsideration was a one-page letter with a copy of a past due utility bill and proof 

of payment for that bill from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program as well as a letter from 

Assist Agency that indicates they made two of the Claimant’s housing payments. 

Based on the evidence presented to the NPFC, the Claimant provided no new evidence or 

information relevant to the reasons identified by the NPFC in its original denial determination 

(i.e., statement by employer that he was not laid off due the oil spill or that he made more in 

2010 than the previous year therefore not demonstrating a loss as claimed). 

As such, the Claimant has again failed to demonstrate that he has suffered a loss due to the 

injury, destruction or loss of property or natural resources as a result of a discharge or substantial 

threat of a discharge of oil.

Based on the foregoing information, this claim is denied upon reconsideration.

Claim Supervisor: Thomas Morrison

Date of Supervisor’s review: 12/15/11

Supervisor Action: Denial on reconsideration approved

Supervisor’s Comments: