2BInformed: Engaging with EPA, OSHA’s New Regulation, and Asbestos
Court: United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit - Debtor Ben Nye Co. Inc., a manufacturer and distributer of theatrical makeup, filed for subchapter V bankruptcy in March 2024. Its proposed bar date...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Dec. 3 issued Part 2 of a final risk determination providing an overview of the hazards of asbestos “to workers in certain conditions.” The agency will soon begin the risk...more
Jurisdiction: United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey - Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc. and its affiliates (Debtors) initiated this bankruptcy action with the Federal District Court of New Jersey....more
In one of the most publicized terms for the U.S. Supreme Court, one June decision has not received the attention it deserves: Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc. Truck upends decades of Chapter 11...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision on an insurer’s standing in its policyholders’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding in Truck Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., 144 S. Ct. 1414 (2024). The decision...more
Superior Court of Delaware, New Castle - In the asbestos action Burhenn v. Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust, the court granted defendant Celotex’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that the complaint was untimely filed. In...more
Observers of filing trends in personal injury mesothelioma matters alleging exposure to talc contaminated with asbestos have noted that the bankruptcy filing of a predominant defendant in those matters did little to slow the...more
Court: U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware - Avon Products Inc., a U.S.-based “non-operational” holding company, announced Monday that it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to “address its debt and...more
On June 25, 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an opinion affirming the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court’s decision to dismiss LTL Management/Johnson & Johnson’s second bankruptcy case for “want of good faith...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 6 unanimously held in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc. that insurers with financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims are a “party in interest” that may object to a...more
Last week’s Privilege Point described an opinion requiring a corporate party’s witness to disclose communications with his Latham & Watkins lawyers, because he confirmed with that firm his own “commercial understanding” about...more
The US Supreme Court ruled that an insurer with financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims is a “party in interest” under Bankruptcy Code §1109(b) that “may raise and may appear and be heard on any issue” in a Chapter 11...more
Companies faced with numerous mass tort claims, such as asbestos claims, often seek bankruptcy protection. Reorganization plans may include § 524(g) channeling injunctions in which insurance assets are put into a trust to pay...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued three decisions today: Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, No. 23-250: This case concerns the funding the Indian Health Service (“IHS”) must provide to Indian tribes that...more
The Supreme Court reversed the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of insurance companies in a unanimous decision written by Justice Sotomayor. In short, the United States Supreme Court held today that insurers facing...more
Another Three-for Thursday at the Supreme Court, with none of the decisions a landmark but each of utmost relevance to legal specialists and technicians in the fields of bankruptcy, estate taxation, and Indian affairs....more
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
Now that the United States Supreme Court has agreed to expeditiously hear the U.S. Trustee’s appeal of the plan confirmation and settlement in Purdue Pharma, lawyers following the LTL Management LLC bankruptcy case, version...more
Johnson & Johnson’s latest talcum powder litigation challenge exists in a New Jersey bankruptcy court where oral arguments concerning its proposed $8.9 billion settlement occurred during the final week of June 2023....more
On January 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed the talc bankruptcy filing of Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, LTL Management, LLC. After hearing arguments in September, the Third Circuit ultimately...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
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, October 4, 2022 - The Asbestos Case Tracker has followed every step in Johnson & Johnson’s bankruptcy case. Recently, Plaintiff LTL Management (“Debtor”)...more
On September 19, 2022, a panel of three judges for the Third Circuit heard oral argument in In re LTL Management LLC, Case No. 22-2003. Before the Court is Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) use of Chapter 11 to resolve...more
A subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from bankruptcy experts and those affected directly by mass tort Chapter 11 cases about their concerns over the corporate machinations that allow some large corporations...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