Asbestos

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The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) was appointed “to advise [the UK government] on matters, both national and international, concerning the pollution of the environment; on the adequacy of research in this field; and the future possibilities of danger to the environment.” …
Read More Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Issues Report on Nanotechnology

On Friday 21 November the High Court is expected to publish its keenly awaited decision in the asbestos employers’ liability “trigger” test cases, which will decide which employers’ liability policies should respond to asbestos claims. 

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Read More UK: Asbestos Trigger Judgment Expected as Public Warned of the “Hidden Killer”

As previously discussed here,  the Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments in January, 2008, in a case against an employer brought by its employee’s daughter concerning her secondhand exposure to asbestos.  Plaintiff Amanda Satterfield succumbed to mesothelioma at the age of 25. …
Read More UPDATE: Tennessee Supreme Court Extends Employer Liability in Secondhand Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit

In a recent decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Jeld-Wen, Inc. v. Van Brunt, Adv. Proc. No. 07-51602 (Bankr. D. Del. June 9, 2008), the court held that a claim for injury allegedly due to exposure to asbestos was not discharged, survived the company’s exit from Chapter 11, and could be asserted against the successor company in a State court action under the circumstances presented: (i) under applicable governing non-bankruptcy law, such a claim does not arise until  injury manifests; (ii) the injury was not discovered until after the company had emerged from bankruptcy; (iii) the company’s confirmed plan of reorganization did not include a channeling injunction accommodating future asbestos related claims; and (iv) the published notice of the plan of reorganization did not provide notice to potential future asbestos claimants that their claims would be discharged by confirmation of the plan. …
Read More Bankruptcy Court Rules That Asbestos Claims Were Not Discharged By Plan of Reorganization

The Mesothelioma Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (the Act) was given Royal Assent on 2 July 2008.  The Act allows victims with diffuse mesothelioma or their dependants to claim a lump sum payment from the government. This new Act allows even those victims who did not have workplace exposure to asbestos to claim a payment under the Act. …
Read More UK: Legislation Extends Government Compensation for Mesothelioma Victims

In a recent decision originating from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on remand from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the court held that (i) there was no basis for finding that joint liquidators for a Bermuda insurer were deficient or engaged in any misconduct, or that their actions resulted in any prejudice to reinsurer Commercial Union and (ii) that vacating the underlying arbitration award and granting injunctive relief would confer an undeserved benefit on Commercial Union. …
Read More Federal Court Rules That Reinsurer Was Not Prejudiced By Redomestication of Insurer Carried Out Through Deceit

In a recent decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Federal Mogul Global, Inc., No. 01-10578 (JKF) (Bankr. D. Del., Mar. 19,  2008) (click here to read the decision), the court ruled that the assignment of rights in certain insurance policies to an asbestos trust was valid and enforceable under the Bankruptcy Code, and anti-assignment provisions in the policies and applicable state law were preempted. …
Read More Bankruptcy Court Rules That Federal Mogul Insurance Policies May Be Assigned to Asbestos Liability Trust

A Florida appellate court recently held that the retroactivity limitation for asbestos lawsuits under the state’s 2005 Asbestos and Silica Compensation Act rendered the entire Act unconstitutional. 

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Read More Florida Appeals Court: 2005 Asbestos and Silica Compensation Act is Unconstitutional