$140 Billion Asbestos Bill May Die

A proposal for a $140 billion asbestos compensation fund will be put in the "deep freeze" unless lawmakers soon agree on the details, Senate Judiciary.

Specter, author of the draft bill to take asbestos injury claims out of court and pay them from the fund, said the proposal is at a critical stage and would be removed from his committee's agenda in the next few weeks if feuding continues on the fund's size and other issues.

"Now is the breakpoint," he said in an opinion article published in The Washington Times newspaper. "Prompt compromises will have to be forthcoming if this critical legislation is to become law or relegated to the deep freeze."

Asbestos was widely used for fireproofing and insulation until the 1970s. Scientists say its inhaled fibers are linked to cancer and other diseases.

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Ruling Leaves Armstrong Still 'Paralyzed'

When a federal judge last week rejected its plan for reorganizing and emerging from bankruptcy, the company was left with a variety of challenges.

Twice during its four-year bankruptcy, Armstrong has responded by winning bankruptcy court approval of expensive bonus programs for management.

Most recently, Armstrong won court approval to pay $9 million in bonuses to 130 top managers if they stay with the company through 2005.

Bankruptcy has been a sizable financial drain on Armstrong in another way.

It’s paying about $1 million to $2 million a month in professional fees to more than a score of law and financial advisory firms, according to Armstrong’s quarterly earnings reports.

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Insurers, Agents Bask In Class-Action Victory Industry sets sights on reform bills for asbestos and medical malpractice claims

The insurance industry raved about the class-action reform measure signed into law by President George W. Bush after an eight-year battle for passage, with the American Insurance Association declaring that the real winners are "all businesses held hostage by frivolous lawsuits."

In commending President Bush for signing the measure, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America also praised leaders in both houses of Congress—including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and their allies in this effort—for working hard this month to get the bill to the president’s desk.

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Georgia Supreme Court Rules on Asbestos Liability and Employees' Families

In each case, CSXT filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the "clothing exposure" claims were not viable under Georgia law because the company owed no duty to non-employees to protect them from exposure to airborne asbestos emitted from its employees’ work clothing away from the workplace. The federal district court denied the motion every time. But it also recognized that the duty issue raised by CSXT was one of first impression in Georgia, meaning the question had never arisen before in any reported case. With that in mind, the federal court effectively put all "clothing exposure" claims on hold until the Georgia Supreme Court supplied an answer to the question.

In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that CSXT was right.

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Judge Rejects Armstrong Bankruptcy Plan

In his 41-page ruling, Robreno called the procedural history of the case "tortuous, even for a large Chapter 11 proceeding." He said the docket contains more than 7,800 entries, reflecting, among other things, "the shifting political winds buffeting the parties."

Under Armstrong's reorganization plan, an asbestos trust fund would have been established consisting of more than $234 million in cash and $519 million in notes and warrants for stock. Existing stockholders would have received warrants - valued at between $35 million and $40 million, or about $1 a share - to be used for the purchase of a new company stock.

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Folksonomies

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US senator resisting cut in asbestos claims fund

Specter told a news conference he will meet next Tuesday with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other Republicans to try to resolve differences over his asbestos proposal.

He said some Republicans wanted to reduce the size of the proposed fund, but noted the parties who would be financing it -- business and insurers -- endorsed the $140 billion amount last year along with the then-Senate leaders, including Frist.

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Florida to look at asbestos liability reform

State Rep. Joe Pickens, a Republican whose district consists of Putnam County and portions of several adjacent counties, introduced the Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act of 2005—H.B. 1019—on Tuesday.

In addition to banning punitive damages, the measure would require that claimants meet specific medical criteria before being permitted to pursue a case. The measure also provides for potential collateral source offsets in settlements and judgments.

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Asbestos liability reform bill introduced in Texas

Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would require plaintiffs in asbestos and silica injury cases to meet certain medical criteria before their claims can go forward.

The measure also aims to head off "factually and medically baseless claims of individuals who have been mistakenly identified as claimants by marketing firms and screening companies in the business of creating 'inventories' of toxic tort claimants."

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6 plead not guilty in asbestos conspiracy

Six senior employees of W.R. Grace & Co. pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges that they conspired for decades to hide the health dan

Charges include conspiracy, violating the Clean Air Act, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Sisters Helen McMillan Zak and Judy McMillan Shelmerdine, who both have asbestos disease after growing up in Libby, attended the arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Bart Erickson.

"I just wanted to see their faces," said Zak, of Stevensville, breathing with the aid of an oxygen tank.

Three of the women's four brothers have already died of asbestos disease, as did their father, who worked at the Libby mine.

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Labor Blasts Asbestos Bill

Organized labor warned U.S. senators in a letter last week that it could not support an asbestos litigation bill that does not include a trust fund—a position that puts the AFL-CIO and its Democratic backers at odds with defendants and insurers, which in effect might kill reform in this Congress.

The AFL-CIO letter said the labor group is "deeply disturbed by the statements of some senators and some business and insurance groups calling for reopening agreements reached in the last Congress or returning to the terms of [a prior bill] as the legislative vehicle for consideration."

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US Congress Approves Clampdown On Class Action Lawsuits

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (AFP) - The US Congress on Thursday passed a law to clampdown on class-action lawsuits, which critics say are costly and abused by attorneys who pocket enormous fees.
The House of Representatives passed The Class Action Fairness Act by 279-149 votes, reforming rules governing lawsuits mainly filed by groups of citizens against powerful corporations.
The first major piece of legislation approved by Congress this year, the bill was approved last week by the Senate and now goes to the White House for President George W. Bush's signature.
The president, a strong supporter of the legislation, applauded its approval by Congress Thursday.
"I commend the House for passing a class action reform bill that will help protect people who are wrongfully harmed while reducing the frivolous lawsuits that clog our courts, hurt the economy, cost jobs, and burden American businesses," he said in a statement.
The White house said a lawsuit is started every two seconds in the United States, and that the Class Action bill is an important first step in slowing the pace of litigation.
"Junk lawsuits have helped drive the cost of Americas tort system to more than 240 billion dollars a year -- greater than any other major industrialized nation.
"This bill is an important step forward in our efforts to reform the litigation system and to continue creating jobs and growing our economy," he said.
Tom DeLay, leader of the Republican majority in the House, called the vote "a major victory in the Republicans' decade-long fight to curb the rampant lawsuit abuse that rewards predatory lawyers more than victims."
"Consumers and businesses alike have been victimized by lawsuit abuse. Court dockets are backed up, companies are paying lawyers instead of employees, and our economy is suffering for it all," DeLay said.
Class-action lawsuits group together plaintiffs who consider themselves victims of the same business procedure -- consumers, employees or stockholders. Awards in such mass lawsuits can reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
One tobacco action in Florida, which is now before the state's Supreme Court, ordered major cigarette companies to pay 145 billion dollars to hundreds of thousands of cigarette smokers. The award was cancelled on appeal in 2003.
Among the most famous was a case fought by Erin Brockovich, which was turned into a Hollywood movie starring Julia Roberts. She won 333 million dollars from a chemical company that polluted land around a town.
Critics argue however that the plaintiffs rarely ever see much that money, which usually go to cover attorney fees.
The bill transfers the jurisdiction of most class-action lawsuits from state to federal courts to prevent lawyers from choosing a venue based on the generosity of the local jury.
Opponents of the bill, mostly Democrats, have said the changes would lead to the unfair dismissal of many worthy lawsuits by federal judges.
The leader of House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, decried the legislation as "payback to big business at the expense of consumers."
"It is an extreme bill that is an injustice to consumers and a windfall for irresponsible corporations," she said.

More on Montana

Feb 13 - The EPA arrived in Libby on Nov. 20, 1999, three days after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published the first of scores of articles on the town - on how Grace concealed the dangers to people living and working there, and how the government knew what was happening and did nothing for decades.

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Asbestos Kills over 200 Montanans

Feb- 15 -Asbestos released into the air from the now-closed W.R. Grace and Co. vermiculite mine just down the road is blamed by some health authorities for killing some 200 people and sickening one of every eight residents. Last week, a federal grand jury indicted the company and seven executives, accusing them of conspiring for decades to hide the danger. Grace has denied any criminal wrongdoing and said it looks forward to "setting the record straight" in court.

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Upon signing the Class-Action Bill, Bush says

Feb- 17 "We have a responsibility to confront frivolous litigation head-on," Bush said. "I will continue working with Congress to pass meaningful legal reforms, starting with reform in our asbestos and medical liability systems."

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Asbestos Dangers During a White House Speech

Feb 18 - ..."There's more to do. Small business owners across America fear that one junk lawsuit could force them to close their doors for good. Medical liability lawsuits are driving up the cost for doctors and patients and entrepreneurs around the country. Asbestos litigation alone has led to the bankruptcy of dozens of companies and cost tens of thousands of jobs, even though many asbestos claims are filed on behalf of people who aren't actually sick...."

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Bush Shields Companies in Asbestos Lawsuits

"Unfortunately, the Bush administration cares only about shielding corporate bottom lines from well-deserved civil liability, even while its own Justice Department acknowledges that these corporations behaved criminally. Regardless, we shouldn't expect any more prosecutions, even though there are worse offenders than W.R. Grace & Co."

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Promina Group Shares Slide on Higher Asbestos Claims

Shares in Promina Group Ltd., Australia's second-biggest general insurer, had a record slump after higher-than-expected asbestos-related claims made its policies less profitable.

The company's insurance margin, a measure of profitability, dropped to 10.1 percent last year from 10.4 percent in 2003, Sydney-based Promina said in a statement today. Net income in the second half of the year rose 56 percent to A$254 million ($200 million) after stock gains boosted investment earnings.

Promina increased provisions against asbestos claims 59 percent to A$204 million in the second half and doubled its forecast for future cases of mesothelioma, a related disease. The company is liable to claims that cover workers compensation.

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Hardie Facing US Death Lawsuits

Hardie Industries will have to appear in a Californian court to defend claims it killed two Americans who worked with asbestos the company exported to the US.

The revelation came as Hardie shareholders, alarmed by revelations in The Australian about the company's US asbestos exposure, wiped almost $200million off its value in trading yesterday.

Hardie shares plummeted 40c since Friday's close to $6.15, a fall of 6.1 per cent.

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