2BInformed: Engaging with EPA, OSHA’s New Regulation, and Asbestos
Earlier this year, at least four asbestos bankruptcy trusts including WR Grace, Babcock & Wilcox, Pittsburgh Corning and Owens Corning, issued notices regarding their intent to destroy data and documents submitted by...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
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 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
Rulings by the United States Supreme Court profoundly impact insurers as businesses and corporate citizens. Additionally, decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court can also influence claims and policyholders' liabilities for...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 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently approved injunctive relief as part of a strategy for settling mass tort claims through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Bestwall LLC, an entity created by...more
On January 30, 2023, the Third Circuit dismissed Johnson & Johnson (J&J)’s subsidiary LTL’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition because the facts did not support the financial distress required for the entity’s good faith filing...more
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, October 19, 2022 - The plaintiffs brought a wrongful death and survival action for damages related to the death of their decedent in 2019. Decedent had a forty-five year...more
Unlike professionals retained in a chapter 11 case by trustees, debtors, or official committees, the Bankruptcy Code provides little guidance regarding the appointment of a representative for "future claimants" in a chapter...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
Summary: A recent Third Circuit decision has clarified the scope of the third-party injunction, including injunctions in favor of insurers that resolve insurance coverage in asbestos bankruptcy cases, that may be issued under...more
On December 28, 2017, the Pennsylvania Superior Court published an anticipated ruling on whether the Pennsylvania Fair Share Act, 42 Pa. C.S. 7102, applies to strict liability claims in the context of an alleged...more