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2023 Second Quarterly Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Alert

Many bankruptcy trusts expanded their approved jobsite lists in the second quarter of 2023, allowing compensation for more individuals who claim to have an asbestos-related injury. However, as can be seen below, many trusts also have decreased their payment percentages. In fact, only two bankruptcy trusts have increased their payment percentages during the 2nd quarter of 2023, while five bankruptcy trusts decreased their payment percentages. 

The cause of the decreased payment percentages is mostly likely due to rising costs of inflation and an increase …

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judge's gavel and books

2022 Fourth Quarter Asbestos Bankrupt Trust Alert

The end of 2022 saw a number of changes to the asbestos bankruptcy trusts, including site list updates to half of the trusts that saw changes during this time. As the Asbestos Case Tracker previously reported, the trend of trusts decreasing their percentage payments continued in the fourth quarter of 2022, with three more trusts doing so. Most notably, the Owens-Illinois Asbestos Personal Injury Trust was formed in 2022 as a result of the bankruptcy of Paddock Enterprises, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiaries to …

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Business and lawyers discussing contract papers with brass scale on desk

2022 Third Quarter Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Alert

Many trusts this year have expanded their approved job site lists, allowing compensation for more individuals who claim to have an asbestos-related injury. However, as can be seen below, many trusts also have decreased their payment percentages.

In fact, there has not been an increase in payment percentages during the 3rd quarter of 2022 from any bankrupt trusts. 

The rising costs of inflation have even affected bankruptcy trust payouts. It will be interesting to see if any bankrupt trusts will decrease their approved jobsite list …

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Honeywell Files Suit Against NARCO Asbestos Trust for Mismanagement of Funds

Honeywell International, Inc. has filed a claim in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against the North American Refractories Co. asbestos victims trust. In the lawsuit, Honeywell alleges the fund’s managers are wrongly paying claimants who allege they have suffered injuries related to asbestos exposure.

The lawsuit follows several years of disputes between Honeywell and the trust, which was established to resolve the bankruptcy of Honeywell’s former affiliate, North American Refractories Co. (NARCO). Honeywell owned NARCO from about 1979 to 1986. …

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Insurer Liability Remanded for Further Factual Findings as to Statutory Relationship Requirement

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, September 15, 2021

W.R. Grace & Co. (Grace) operated an asbestos mining and processing facility in Montana from 1963 to 1990. After declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Grace emerged and reorganized. Its reorganization plan included the establishment of an asbestos personal-injury trust, through which all asbestos-related personal injury claims against Grace were to be enjoined and channeled. The question before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit panel involved the Grace insurers and whether they could …

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2021 Second Quarter Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Alert

As previously reported on Asbestos Case Tracker, by the end of the first quarter of 2021 there were 11 trusts which had changes impacting the amount of compensation available to individuals claiming asbestos-related injuries. As the second quarter of 2021 comes to a close, there are now changes to nine trusts, five of which also saw changes at the end of the first quarter. Below is a summary of the changes, to date.

Bankrupt TrustChange
CelotexIncreased its payment percentage from 7.7% to 8%
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2021 First Quarter Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Alert

Asbestos bankruptcy trusts remain a topic frequently monitored and reported on Asbestos Case Tracker.  As the first quarter of 2021 comes to a close, we have seen a number of changes to 11 trusts that will impact the amount of compensation available to individuals claiming asbestos-related injuries. 

Below is a summary of the changes, to date. It will be interesting to see how the PROTECT Asbestos Victims Act, reported on last month, may impact the bankruptcies if it progresses.

Bankrupt TrustChange
AC&SEffective
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A Matter of Trust: Promoting Truth in New York Asbestos Trust Claims with Legislative Solutions

Previously on Asbestos Case Tracker, we took a look at the successful efforts of certain states to combat manipulation and abuse of the asbestos bankruptcy trust system. These states passed legislation that prevents claimants from being doubly compensated for alleged exposures to asbestos-containing products manufactured, used, or supplied by bankrupt and viable companies. The legislation enabled defendants in the tort system to obtain evidence of alternative exposures submitted only to bankruptcy trusts but not during the course of personal injury litigation.

New York’s Solution

New …

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Third Circuit Denies Defendants’ Request for Unlimited Access to Exhibits Submitted to Bankruptcy Trusts

Defendants Honeywell and Ford Motor appealed the District Court’s decision affirming the denial of “unconditional access” to numerous exhibits submitted in connection with “administering nine asbestos bankruptcies.” The court had previously permitted review of the documents for three months with certain limitations. However, unfettered access was denied as doing so would “pose an undue risk of identity theft and exposure to private medical information.” The court concluded that the bankruptcy code permitted protection from disclosure of information that would “create an undue risk of identity …

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Claimants Committee Motion to Dismiss Denied by Bankruptcy Court; Finding that Bestwall’s Bankruptcy Reorganization was not Filed in Bad Faith

NORTH CAROLINA – Asbestos claimants (claimants committee) in this Chapter 11 case filed a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy case filed by Georgia Pacific (GP) for its acquisition of Bestwall arguing that the petition was filed in bad faith and established a reorganization that was “objectively futile.”

By way of background, GP filed for corporate restructuring in 2017 as a result of “decades long” asbestos litigation liabilities. As many as 64,000 asbestos claims were pending against Bestwall as of the date of the petition alone. …

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