CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 5890/DWHZ 

Number: 7011 1570 0001 4802 8566 05 January 2012 

 

Accounting & Bookkeeping Services 

ATTN: 

808 Cardinal Ave.

Palm Harbor, FL 34683 

Re: Claim Number: N10036-1611 

Dear 

The National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC), in accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 

U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. (OPA) and the associated regulations at 33 C.F.R. Part 136, denies payment on the 

claim number N10036-1611 involving the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Please see the attached Claim 

Summary/Determination Form for further explanation. 

You may make a written request for reconsideration of this claim. The reconsideration must be received 

by the NPFC within 60 days of the date of this letter and must include the factual or legal basis of the 

request for reconsideration, providing any additional support for the claim. However, if you find that you 

will be unable to gather particular information within the time period, you may include a request for an 

extension of time for a specified duration with your reconsideration request. 

Reconsideration of the denial will be based upon the information provided. A claim may be reconsidered 

only once. Disposition of that reconsideration in writing will constitute final agency action. Failure of 

the NPFC to issue a written decision within 90 days after receipt of a timely request for reconsideration 

shall, at the option of the claimant, be deemed final agency action. All correspondence should include 

claim number N10036-1611. 

Mail reconsideration requests to:

Director (ca)

NPFC CA MS 7100 

US COAST GUARD

4200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 1000 

Arlington, VA 20598-7100 

Sincerely,

Claims Adjudication Division

National Pollution Funds Center

U.S. Coast Guard 

Enclosures: Claim Summary/Determination Form

U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security

United States

Coast Guard

Director

National Pollution Funds Center

United States Coast Guard

NPFC CA MS 7100

US COAST GUARD

4200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 1000

Arlington, VA 20598-7100

Staff Symbol: (CA)

Phone: 800-280-7118

E-mail: arl-pf-npfcclaimsinfo@uscg.mil

Fax: 202-493-6937
Documentation List: Claimant’s submission to the OSLTF

CLAIM SUMMARY/DETERMINATION FORM

Claim Number N10036-1611

Claimant Accounting and Bookkeeping Services

Type of Claimant Corporate (US)

Type of Claim Loss of Profits and Impairment of Earning Capacity

Amount Requested $14,676.11

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 

certain individual and business claims on behalf of BP.

CLAIM AND CLAIMANT

On 16 December 2011, Ms. Karen J. Mills, on behalf of Accounting & Bookkeeping Services 

(collectively, the Claimant) presented a claim to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) 

seeking $14,676.11 in loss of profits damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 1

The Claimant owns and operates a small accounting business in Palm Harbor, Florida. The 

Claimant works primarily as a subcontractor, and secures 95% of her business from a single 

accounting firm. 2 The Claimant alleged that public perception of oil pollution in Pinellas

County, Florida, resulted in a reduction in tourism, which caused certain clients of the 

accounting firm to sustain losses.3 Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the primary 

accountant renegotiated rates with certain clients and began to charge them at lower rates than 

previously agreed upon.4 In a letter to the Claimant, the primary accountant wrote, 

I must pay you a reduced rate on the following clients that have been directly 

affected by the B.P. Oil Spill due to a major reduction in tourism. These clients 

have not been able to pay me my normal rate; therefore, this loss will have to flow 

to you as well.5

Based on earnings in previous years, the Claimant calculated that her revenue should increase by 

6.64% each year.6

 The Claimant used this estimated percentage increase to calculate projected 

sales for 2010 and 2011.7

1 Optional OSLTF Claim Form, signed on 7 December 2011.. 2 Hardship Letter Due to BP Oil Spill.

3 Letter from the Claimant to the NPFC, 7 December 2011.

4 Letter from Demetrios Moustopoulos to the Claimant, 1 July 2010; PHONECON: NPFC Staff and Mr. 

Moustopolous, 3 January 2012.

5 Letter from Demetrios Moustopoulos to the Claimant, 1 July 2010. 6 Document titled, “Analysis of 2009 to 2008 using the 6.64% increase to determine projected sales”

7 Document titled, “Analysis of 2009 to 2008 using the 6.64% increase to determine projected sales”

 
APPLICABLE LAW 

Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), at 33 U.S.C. § 2702(a), responsible parties are liable 

for removal costs and damages resulting from the discharge of oil into or upon the navigable 

waters or adjoining shorelines or the exclusive economic zone, as described in § 2702(b) of 

OPA. 

The OSLTF which is administered by the NPFC, is available, pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 2712(a)(4) 

and § 2713 and the OSLTF claims adjudication regulations at 33 C.F.R. Part 136, to pay claims 

for uncompensated damages. One type of damages available pursuant to 33 C.F.R. § 136.231 is 

a claim for loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to injury to or destruction of 

natural resources.

Under 33 C.F.R. § 136.233 a claimant must establish the following:

(a) That real or personal property or natural resources have been injured, destroyed, or lost.

(b) That the claimant’s income was reduced as a consequence of injury to, destruction of, or 

loss of property or natural resources, and the amount of that reduction.

(c) The amount of the claimant’s profits or earnings in comparable periods and during the 

period when the claimed loss or impairment was suffered, as established by income tax 

returns, financial statements, and similar documents. In addition, comparative figures for 

profits or earnings for the same or similar activities outside of the area affected by the 

incident also must be established.

(d) Whether alternative employment or business was available and undertaken and, if so, the 

amount of income received. All income that a claimant received as a result of the 

incident must be clearly indicated and any saved overhead and other normal expenses not 

incurred as a result of the incident must be established. 

Under 33 C.F.R. § 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 C.F.R. § 136.235, the amount of compensation allowable for a claim involving loss of 

profits or impairment of earning capacity is limited to the actual net reduction or loss of earnings 

or profits suffered. Calculations for net reductions or losses must clearly reflect adjustments 

for—

(a) All income resulting from the incident;

(b) All income from alternative employment or business undertaken;

(c) Potential income from alternative employment or business not undertake, but reasonably 

available;

(d) Any saved overhead or normal expenses not incurred as a result of the incident; and

(e) State, local, and Federal taxes.

DETERMINATION OF LOSS 

Claimant’s Submission to the OSLTF

To support this claim, the Claimant submitted the following documentation:

See Enclosure.
Prior to presentment of this claim to the NPFC, the Claimant presented a Second Quarter Interim 

Payment Claim (ICQ22011) to the RP/GCCF seeking loss of profits and wages damages in the 

amount of $9,953.71.8 The Claimant was assigned Claimant ID # 3528353 and the ICQ22011 

was assigned Claim # 9407872.9

 This claim was denied by the RP/GCCF on 12 July 2011.10

The Claimant then presented a Third Quarter Interim Payment Claim (ICQ32011) to the 

RP/GCCF, seeking to recover lost profits in the amount of $4,722.50.11 The ICQ32011 was 

assigned Claim # 9437839 and was denied by the RP/GCCF on 12 August 2011.12

On 16 December 2011, the Claimant presented this claim to the NPFC, seeking loss of profits 

damages in the amount of $14,676.11.13 According to the Claimant’s submission to the NPFC, 

the losses presented in this claim are losses in revenue sustained from the time of the oil spill 

until 30 June 2011.14 Because the Claimant has previously presented a claim for the same 

damages to the RP/GCCF, the NPFC may fully adjudicate this claim, in the amount of 

$14,676.11.15

NPFC Determination

Under 33 U.S.C. § 2702(b)(2)(E) and 33 C.F.R. Part 136, a claimant must prove that any loss of 

income was due to injury, destruction or loss of real or personal property or of a natural resource 

as a result of a discharge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil. Under 33 C.F.R. § 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 this claim.

As an initial matter, the NPFC notes that under OPA’s Loss of Profits and Earning Capacity 

damage category, the OSLTF is available to pay damages for losses of profits resulting from the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and not losses in revenue, as presented by the Claimant.16 

Therefore, the remainder of this determination addresses the Claimant’s alleged losses insofar as 

they represent losses or reduction in profits. All other damages presented by the Claimant are 

initially denied.

The Claimant alleged that the oil spill negatively affected tourism in Pinellas County, which 

caused certain clients of the primary accountant to sustain losses. The Claimant alleged that as a 

subcontractor, these losses were passed on to her. 

In order to establish that the Claimant sustained an OPA-compensable loss of profits in this case, 

the Claimant must provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate (1) that certain clients actually 

sustained quantifiable losses, (2) that these losses were caused by the oil discharged during the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill, (3) that the losses sustained by certain clients rendered them unable 

to continue to pay the primary accountant, and (4) that the primary accountant was unable to 

continue to pay the Claimant at previously agreed upon rates. Further, evidence submitted in 

8 GCCF Interim Claim Submission, 30 June 2011. 9 GCCF Claimant Status, accessed on 29 December 2011.

10 GCCF Denial Letter on Interim Payment/Final Payment Claim, 12 July 2011. 11 GCCF Interim Claim Submission, 30 September 2011. 12 GCCF Denial Letter on Interim Payment/Final Payment Claim, 12 August 2011. 13 Optional OSLTF Claim Form, singed on 7 December 2011, indicates that the Claimant seeks $9,953.61 plus 

$4,722.50 from the NPFC.

14 Optional OSLTF Claim Form, signed on 7 December 2011; GCCF Interim Claim Submission, 30 June 2011, 

indicate that the Claimant calculated loss of revenue rather than loss of profits.

15 33 C.F.R. § 136.103(a). 16 33 C.F.R. § 136.231.

 
support of item (4) above would have to indicate the employer’s inability to pay, rather than his 

independent business decision not to pay, previously negotiated contractual rates with the 

Claimant for the accounting services she was hired to provide.

The Claimant has not provided evidence sufficient to demonstrate that particular clients 

sustained certain amounts of losses, or to show that the losses allegedly sustained by the clients 

resulted from the discharge of oil caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Claimant has 

also not provided evidence sufficient to support the Claimant’s assertion that tourism in Pinellas

County was negatively impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In fact, county statistics 

indicate that the oil spill did not cause a reduction in tourism in Pinellas County in 2010 or 2011.

The 2010 Annual Visitors Profile for Pinellas County indicates that the number of visitors to the 

county in May, June, July and August 2010, actually increased as compared to those months of 

2009.17 Likewise, the Visitors Profile indicates that expenditures in the spring and summer 

months of 2010, did not drop, but remained at 2009 levels.18 These statistics are further 

supported by Pinellas County Bed Tax collections, which indicate year over year increases 

starting in July of 2010 and continuing through 2011.19 

Documentation provided by the Claimant as well as independent research conducted by the 

NPFC, fails to indicate (1) that oil discharged during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused a 

reduction in tourism, or (2) that a reduction in tourism caused the Claimant to sustain a loss of 

profits.

This claim is therefore denied because the Claimant failed to meet her burden to demonstrate (1) 

that she sustained a loss of profits in the amount of $14,676.11, 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.

Claim Supervisor: NPFC Claims Adjudication Division

Date of Supervisor’s Review: 1/5/12

Supervisor’s Action: Denial approved

Supervisor’s Comments:

17 St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Annual 2010 Visitor Profile, 

http://www.pinellascvb.com/statistics/Pinellas2010AnnualReport.pdf., at 6. Accessed on 3 January 2012. 18 St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Annual 2010 Visitor Profile, Available at, 

www.pinellascvb.com/statistics/Pinellas2010AnnualReport.pdf, at 7. Accessed on 3 January 2012. 19 Pinellas County, CVB statistics, Bed Tax Information. Available at, www.pinellascvb.com/cms/index.php?id=6. 

Accessed on 3 January 2012.

 
The Claimant’s Submission to the OSLTF

Claim N10036-1611

To support this claim, the Claimant submitted the following documentation:

• Optional OSLTF Claim Form, signed on 7 December 2011;

• Letter from the Claimant to the NPFC describing prior dealings with the GCCF, 7 

December 2011;

• TBN Weekly, Oil Spill update, Pinellas County prepares to wait, 14 June 2010;

• St. Petersburg Times, Oil spill puts Florida’s tourism industry on edge, 30 April 2010;

• St. Petersburg Times, $1 million ad campaign will fight belief that oil spill affected 

Pinellas beaches, 27 April 2011;

• Testimony to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, 

“The BP Oil Spill and Gulf Coast Tourism: Assessing the Impact,” 27 July 2010;

• Support Data for Testimony to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and 

Consumer Protection, “The BP Oil Spill and Gulf coast tourism: Assessing the Impact”;

• GCCF Interim Claim Submission, filed on 30 July 2011, seeking $9,953.71 in lost 

earnings;

• 2010 Monthly Revenue chart;

• 2009 Monthly Revenue chart;

• 2008 Monthly Revenue chart;

• “Revenue analysis-pre-spill period versus post-spill period from 2008 to 2010”;

• “Revenue analysis-pre-spill period versus post-spill period from 2008 to 2010”;

• Calculation of Loss of Income;

• Analysis of 2009 to 2008 using the 6.64% increase to determine projected sales;

• Copy of the Claimant’s driver’s license;

• Copy of the Claimant’s social security card;

• Document showing location of the Claimant’s office and proof of ownership;

• Map showing location of the Claimant’s business in Palm Harbor, Florida;

• 2010 Form 1040, showing adjusted gross income of $12,866.00;

• 2010 Schedule A (Form 1040);

• 2010 Schedule C (Form 1040) showing gross sales of $43,200.00, and net profit of 

$16,434.00;

• 2010 Schedule EIC (Form 1040A or 1040);

• 2010 Form 8812;

• 2010 Schedule M (Form 1040A or 1040);

• 2010 Form 8829;

• 2010 Forms 1099-MISC (Moustopouls and Company, Inc.; P & L Bookkeeping, Inc.);

• 2009 Form 1040, showing adjusted gross income of $17,827.00;

• 2009 Schedule C (Form 1040), showing gross sales of $45,749.00 and net profit of 

$19,183.00;

• 2009 Schedule SE (Form 1040);

• 2009 Schedule EIC (Form 1040A or 1040);

• 2009 Form 8812;

• 2009 Form 8829;

• 2009 Schedule M (Form 1040A or 1040);

• 2009 Form 1099-MISC (Moustopoulos and Company, Inc.);

• 2008 Form 1040, showing adjusted gross income of $15,835.00;
• 2008 Schedule C (Form 1040), showing gross sales of $41,810.00 and profit of $0.00. 

(Rep Tile, LLC);

• 2008 Schedule C (Form 1040), showing gross sales of $42,900.00 and net profit of 

$17,039.00;

• 2008 Schedule SE (Form 1040);

• 2008 Schedule EIC (Form 1040A or 1040);

• 2008 Form 8812;

• 2008 Form 8829;

• 2008 Form 1099-MISC (George G. Pappas; Moustopoulos & Company, Inc.);

• GCCF Denial Letter on Interim Payment/Final Payment Claim, 12 July 2011, Claimant 

ID 3528353;

• Additional documentation for Claim ID 3528353, 12 July 2011;

• Letter from Demetrios Moustopoulos to the Claimant, re: reduced rates due to clients 

affected by B.P. Oil Spill, 1 July 2010;

• Letter from Demetrios Moustopoulos to the Claimant, re: reduced rates due to clients 

affected by B.P. Oil Spill, 1 July 2010;

• Chart titled “loss of earnings due to BP Oil Spill;

• P and L Bookkeeping, Inc. invoices, Spongeorama’s Sponge Factory, LLC, 2010;

• P and L Bookkeeping, Inc. invoices, Spongeorama’s Cruise Lines, Inc., 2010;

• P and L Bookkeeping, Inc. invoices, Kitsos Land, LLC, 2010;

• GCCF Denial Letter on Interim Payment/Final Payment Claim, 12 August 2011;

• GCCF Interim Payment Claim Form, seeking lost earnings or profits of $4,722.50, 30 

September 2011.

• Letter from the Claimant to the GCCF, 12 August 2011;

• Attachment A, “Establishing Evidence of a Connection to the Spill;

• Attachment C, “Financial Test”;

• Additional Documentation for Claim ID 3528353, 12 July 2011;

• Letter from Demetrios Moustopoulous to the Claimant, 1 July 2010;

• Letter from Demetrios Moustopoulous to the Claimant, 1 July 2010;

• Chart showing loss of earnings due to BP oil spill, May 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011;

• Invoice, P and L Bookkeeping, Inc., Forever Young Boutique and Accessories, Inc., 

2011;

• Invoices, P and L Bookkeeping, Inc., Kitsos Land LLC, 2011;

• Invoices, P and L Bookkeeping, Inc., Spongeorama’s Cruise, Inc. 2011;

• Invoices, P and L bookkeeping, Inc., Spongeorama’s Sponge Factory, LLC, 2011;

• Attachment A: Explanation of Financial Performance Test;

• Revenue analysis-pre-spill period versus post-spill period from 2008 to 2010;

• Schedule C data and monthly revenues for the calendar year 2010;

• Schedule C Income and Monthly Revenues billed for the calendar year 2009;

• Schedule C Income and Monthly Revenues billed for the calendar year 2008;

• Hardship Letter due to BP Oil Spill;