They also have a Super 8 and a Red Roof Inn on U.S. 231, miles from
“We would have been better off with the GCCF than with the new system, because two of my hotels, which are far from the water, we got settlements, fairly good settlements or a fair amount of money from the old system,” Harry Patel said. “We got a fair reimbursement; I can tell you that.”
The Patels were negotiating settlements with GCCF for their claims on their
The settlement includes a formula for calculating the damages for which BP admitted liability. The Patels have calculated the amount they said BP owes them; all that’s left is for BP to cut a check.
“Our calculation has been submitted. All the documents have been submitted. Why are they delaying those?” Harry Patel said. “If they can drag you for two years after the settlement, what does the settlement mean?”
The Patels refiled new claims for their hotels on the beach — slam dunks, Harry Patel said — and they waited.
But they have received no relief since the emergency funds offered in 2010, he said, and since the GCCF closed up shop, the Patels and other similarly situated have nobody to work with. When they try to get answers, they’re told only that their claim is “under review.”
The worst part of the process for the Patels has been the uncertainty, Chase Patel said. When the spill happened, they had plans to open a restaurant on the beach. They already had permits from the city.
But that is a restaurant the beach will never know; the Patels abandoned those plans.
“In a business,” Chase Patel said, “uncertainty is the biggest risk.”
So great is their uncertainty, they said, they would be willing to negotiate with BP, even if it meant settling for less than they believe the settlement agreement says they are entitled.
“They were saying that the settlement is more fair and is going to bring you more money than the previous system, GCCF, but actually, now, we are realizing that we would have been better off with the GCCF,” Harry Patel said. “At least you had somebody to talk to.”