The link between asbestos exposure and an increased risk of diseases such as mesothelioma cancer, asbestos lung cancer, asbestosis, or other diseases was conclusively established in the 1970s. When this information was made...more
The United States Supreme Court agreed today to review a Fourth Circuit decision that denied an insurer standing to object to an asbestos producer’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan, on the basis that the insurer’s interests...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have been operating a global Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) approach in healthcare lien resolution for mass tort, class action, and asbestos trust settlements for more...more
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...more
When there are large numbers of substantial individual tort claims against a debtor, potentially involving claimants unknowable to the debtor who themselves may not know they have a claim, the bankruptcy process faces special...more
For nearly 25 years, courts in the Ninth Circuit have consistently refused to sanction nonconsensual third-party releases as part of chapter 11 plans. A ruling recently handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District...more
In In re Garlock Sealing Technologies, LLC, 504 B.R. 71 (Bankr. W.D.N.C. 2014), the court confirmed what many asbestos defendants and their insurers long suspected: that “the withholding of exposure evidence by plaintiffs and...more
On March 4, 2019, the Court of Appeals of Maryland heard oral argument on an appeal from a $7.28 million jury verdict in favor of Plaintiffs William Busch and his wife Kathleen against the asbestos settlement trust...more
In the wake of asbestos bankruptcies brought on by mass tort liabilities, reorganization plan structures, like that in Johns-Mansville, often funneled asbestos-related claims into a settlement trust, while a “channeling...more
Finding that only a narrow evidentiary review is appropriate when certifying a class under Missouri state law, a Missouri appeals court reversed a trial court’s decision to deny class certification in a suit alleging asbestos...more
A federal district court has confirmed a $14 million arbitration award entered in favor of Amerisure against its reinsurer Everest. As we earlier reported, the court had previously denied the motion to seal briefing...more
The Arizona legislature recently enacted A.R.S. § 12-782 to prohibit claimants from obtaining duplicative or excessive recoveries in asbestos personal injury lawsuits. Section 12-782 impacts personal injury plaintiffs that...more
Granite State Insurance Company (“Granite State”) brought an action against Clearwater Insurance Company (“Clearwater”) regarding a dispute over reinsurance claims Granite State made, and which Clearwater denied based on late...more