Now online here at no expense is a new paper by the economists at Bates White. The paper is titled "The Naming Game" and is well-worth reading because it uses data from Alameda County to prove the reality that when defendants have exited the tort system to chapter 11, plaintiffs lawyers have in fact sought out and sued new defendants with increasing frequency. The paper also raises other interesting questions for discussion another day regarding the practices of plaintiff's lawyers in collecting money from asbestos trusts AFTER they have finished collecting money in the tort system.
The online article is a reprint from the September 2 issue of the Mealey's report for Asbestos Litigation.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Update on GM and Chrysler as to Asbestos Claims
An update seems appropriate in light of the "new" cert petition filed in early September, and comments this week from the asbestos plaintiff's bar (Joseph Rice of Motley Rice and Robert Phillips of SimmonsCooper) during a seminar panel discussion on the status of various chapter 11 cases. The bottom lines seem to be as follows as to Chrysler and GM.
1) As I've described before, the Second Circuit's August 5 opinion in Chrysler explicitly articulated caveats as to which if any tort claimants will be bound by the rulings to date. That was obviously a victory for the asbestos plaintiff's bar and they ultimately decided it was a strong enough win to make the choice not to pursue further appeals in GM or Chrysler. Instead, they will in the future fight the issues of which if any would-be future plaintiffs are bound and as to what issues.
2) The Indiana Pension Fund plaintiffs are now trying to obtain certiorari on the fundamental issue of whether section 363 asset sales can be used to sidestep the normal confirmation process. Go here for a Scotusblog summary and a link to the cert petition. As Todd Brown has described before in pointoflaw.com, and as is described in other posts collected here, the rights of future plaintiffs can be or have been sacrificed in the context of section 363 sales since that process allows the debtor to avoid many of the "rigors" (such as they may be) of the confirmation process. And, as I've pointed out, that group of future plaintiffs includes asbestos co-defendants and subrogated insurers. So, if granted, the certiorari petition would raise issues of importance to future chapter 11 cases that include mass tort claims.
1) As I've described before, the Second Circuit's August 5 opinion in Chrysler explicitly articulated caveats as to which if any tort claimants will be bound by the rulings to date. That was obviously a victory for the asbestos plaintiff's bar and they ultimately decided it was a strong enough win to make the choice not to pursue further appeals in GM or Chrysler. Instead, they will in the future fight the issues of which if any would-be future plaintiffs are bound and as to what issues.
2) The Indiana Pension Fund plaintiffs are now trying to obtain certiorari on the fundamental issue of whether section 363 asset sales can be used to sidestep the normal confirmation process. Go here for a Scotusblog summary and a link to the cert petition. As Todd Brown has described before in pointoflaw.com, and as is described in other posts collected here, the rights of future plaintiffs can be or have been sacrificed in the context of section 363 sales since that process allows the debtor to avoid many of the "rigors" (such as they may be) of the confirmation process. And, as I've pointed out, that group of future plaintiffs includes asbestos co-defendants and subrogated insurers. So, if granted, the certiorari petition would raise issues of importance to future chapter 11 cases that include mass tort claims.
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