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Mealey's Asbestos Bankruptcy

  • November 20, 2018

    Daughter Takes Over Father’s Seat On Bestwall’s Asbestos Claimants’ Committee

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The daughter of a man with mesothelioma who was appointed to the Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants in the Chapter 11 case of Bestwall LLC will succeed her father on the committee as representative of his estate and holder of a wrongful death claim against the debtor after the man died recently, according to a Nov. 20 order in North Carolina federal bankruptcy court (In re Bestwall LLC, No. 17-31795, W.D. N.C. Bkcy.).

  • November 20, 2018

    Settlement Approvals Flout 9th Circuit Precedent, Asbestos Insurers Argue

    TACOMA, Wash. — A bankruptcy court erred in approving settlements between Chapter 11 debtor Fraser’s Boiler Service Inc. and several asbestos insurers and in barring equitable contribution and breach of contract claims by nonsettling insurers against the insurers, the nonsettling insurers told a Washington federal court Oct. 23 (In re:  Fraser’s Boiler Service, Inc., Nos. 3:18-cv-5637 and 3:18-cv-05638, W.D. Wash.).

  • November 13, 2018

    Debtor Must Hire Liability Consultants As Experts, Bankruptcy Judge Rules

    TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington federal bankruptcy judge on Nov. 8 denied requests by Chapter 11 debtor Fraser’s Boiler Service Inc. to employ as professionals two experts to help estimate the debtor’s future asbestos liability, but said the company is free to hire the experts  without court approval and seek reimbursement for their fees (In re:  Fraser’s Boiler Service, Inc., No. 18-41245, W.D. Wash. Bkcy.).

  • November 7, 2018

    Asbestos Coverage Dispute Must Await Chapter 11 Results, Bankruptcy Judge Says

    TRENTON, N.J. — With new Chapter 11 debtor Duro Dyne National Corp. already on the path to reorganization, a New Jersey federal bankruptcy judge on Oct. 17 denied a request by asbestos insurers to lift the automatic bankruptcy stay so a New York state court coverage case can proceed (In re:  Duro Dyne National Corp., et al., No. 18-27963, D. N.J. Bkcy.).

  • November 2, 2018

    U.S. Trustee Appeals Appointment Of FCR For Duro Dyne Chapter 11

    TRENTON, N.J. — A U.S. trustee in the Chapter 11 case of Duro Dyne National Corp. is continuing his fight against the usually routine appointment of a future claimants’ representative (FCR), on Oct. 31 appealing a New Jersey federal bankruptcy judge’s order naming a longtime representative for future asbestos claimants as FCR (In re:  Duro Dyne National Corp., et al., No. 18-27963, D. N.J. Bkcy.).

  • November 2, 2018

    Washington High Court: Pfizer Liable For Quigley Asbestos Refractory Products

    SEATTLE — Washington state recognizes the apparent manufacturer doctrine, and when applied from a reasonable consumer’s perspective, the doctrine creates genuine issues about whether Pfizer Inc. held itself out as the manufacturer of the now-bankrupt Quigley Co. Inc.’s asbestos-containing refractory products, the state’s divided high court held Nov. 1 (Margaret Rublee, et al. v. Carrier Corp., et al., No. 94732-5, Wash. Sup., 2018 Wash. LEXIS 718).

  • October 25, 2018

    Trial Justice: Insolvent Insurer Not Allowed To Prorate Asbestos Coverage

    NEW YORK — Midland Insurance Co., which is in liquidation, cannot prorate its asbestos coverage, a New York trial justice ruled Aug. 10, finding that a trust can pursue the full limits of excess policies issued by the insolvent insurer (In the matter of the liquidation of Midland Insurance Co., No. 041294/1986, N.Y. Sup., New York Co., 2018 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4668).

  • October 25, 2018

    Oakfabco, Insurers Reach Deal That Boosts Funding For Planned Asbestos Trust

    CHICAGO — Chapter 11 debtor Oakfabco Inc. has reached a settlement with the last remaining insurers challenging the company’s reorganization efforts that will provide $2.65 million more in funding for an asbestos trust than a previous settlement amount, according to a notice of successful mediation the debtor filed Oct. 3 in Illinois federal bankruptcy court (In re:  Oakfabco, Inc., No. 15-27062, N.D. Ill. Bkcy.).

  • October 25, 2018

    Manville, Thorpe Trusts Both Paid Most Claimants For Which Thorpe Seeks Indemnity

    NEW YORK — Only 389 asbestos claimants out of the more than 4,000 claims that the Thorpe Trust seeks indemnification for from the Manville Trust have not already received settlements from both trusts, the Manville Trust reported Oct. 22 to a New York federal bankruptcy judge in the two trusts’ dispute over the indemnification claims (Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust v. Thorpe Insulation Company Asbestos Settlement Trust, No. 1:17-ap-1186, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.).

  • October 24, 2018

    Ford, Honeywell Demand ‘Full Access’ To Asbestos Trusts’ Claimant Information

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals must reverse rulings placing limits on how Ford Motor Co. and Honeywell International Inc. can use asbestos claimants’ information from nine bankruptcy trusts and remand with instructions to grant them “full access” to the data to use as they wish, the companies argue in an Oct. 5 brief on appeal (In re:  AC&S, Inc., et al., No. 18-1951, 3rd Cir.).

  • October 23, 2018

    Insurers, THAN Trust Settle Discovery Disputes In Row Over Audit Rights

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Insurers and the T H Agriculture & Nutrition LLC (THAN) asbestos trust have agreed on a proposed order that will govern their discovery disputes in a suit over the scope of the insurers’ rights to audit the trust for evidence of fraud, according to an Oct. 19 letter to the court from the trust (AIU Insurance Company, et al. v. Philips Electronics North America Corporation, et al., No. 9852, Del. Chanc.).

  • October 22, 2018

    Attorneys For Fraser’s Asbestos Claimants Ordered To File Rule 2019 Statements

    TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington federal bankruptcy judge on Oct. 4 ordered three asbestos claimants’ law firms to file mandatory bankruptcy statements with the court showing who the firms represent, after nonsettling insurers moved for such an order or to have the firms’ votes on the debtor’s plan of reorganization declared invalid (In re:  Fraser’s Boiler Service, Inc., No. 18-41245, W.D. Wash. Bkcy.).

  • October 22, 2018

    SEC Investigating Honeywell’s Accounting Of Bendix Asbestos Liability Reporting

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Honeywell International Inc.’s reporting of its asbestos liabilities related to Bendix Friction Materials, the company announced in an Oct. 19 regulatory filing.

  • October 19, 2018

    Bankruptcy Judge Sets Deadlines In Rapid-American Insurance Coverage Row

    NEW YORK — The parties in an adversary proceeding filed in the Chapter 11 case of Rapid-American Corp. over insurance coverage for asbestos personal injury claims have until January to iron out their discovery disputes, according to a New York federal bankruptcy judge’s Sept. 27 scheduling order (Rapid-American Corporation, et al. v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, et al., No. 15-01095, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.).

  • October 19, 2018

    Bestwall Case Meets Bad Faith Requirements For Dismissal, Asbestos Committee Says

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Chapter 11 case of newly formed Georgia-Pacific affiliate Bestwall LLC should be dismissed because it meets the standard set by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a subjective bad faith bankruptcy filing, the asbestos claimants’ committee tells a North Carolina federal bankruptcy court in an Oct. 17 brief in support of its motion to dismiss (In re Bestwall LLC, No. 17-31795, W.D. N.C. Bkcy.).

  • October 17, 2018

    Judge Rejects U.S. Trustee’s Objections, Names Future Claimants’ Representative

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey federal bankruptcy judge on Oct. 15 approved in a minute order the appointment of a longtime representative for future asbestos claimants in corporate bankruptcies as the future claimants’ representative (FCR) in the Chapter 11 case of Duro Dyne National Corp., over protests from the U.S. trustee (In re:  Duro Dyne National Corp., et al., No. 18-27963, D. N.J. Bkcy.).

  • October 16, 2018

    Federal Judge Sends Claims Against Libby, Mont., Railway Back To State Court

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge agreed with a magistrate judge on Oct. 15 and remanded to state court asbestos liability class claims against a railway that had been stayed by the bankruptcy case of W.R. Grace & Co. pursuant to the local controversy exception to federal jurisdiction (Korey L. Aarstad, et al. v. BNSF Railway Company, et al., No. 4:17-cv-72, D. Mont., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176843).

  • October 15, 2018

    Massachusetts Jury Awards $43.1M In Rare Asbestos-Tobacco Lung Cancer Trial

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts jury hearing a rare trial involving both asbestos and tobacco defendants on Oct. 12 faulted one of the three defendants and hit that tobacco company with $13.1 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages for a man’s lung cancer (Louis Summerlin, et al. v. Philip Morris, USA, et al., No. 1581CV05255, Mass. Super., Suffolk Co.).  VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

  • October 15, 2018

    Johnson & Johnson Prevails In Latest Trial Featuring Asbestos-Talc Claims

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey jury returned a defense verdict Oct. 11 for Johnson & Johnson in the latest asbestos-talc case after nearly a month of trial (Rosalind & Frederick Henry v. Brenntag North America, et al., No. L-1748-17, N.J. Super., Middlesex Co.) VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

  • October 15, 2018

    Duro Dyne’s Disclosure Statement Under Attack From U.S. Trustee, Insurers

    TRENTON, N.J. — The disclosure statement for recent Chapter 11 debtor Duro Dyne National Corp.’s prenegotiated plan of reorganization cannot be approved because it fails to mention that the plan does nothing to guard against fraud, the U.S. trustee argues in an Oct. 4 objection filed in New Jersey federal bankruptcy court (In re:  Duro Dyne National Corp., et al., No. 18-27963, D. N.J. Bkcy.).