Asbestos-Related Settlement Against Travelers May be Reinstated
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
On December 12th the United States Supreme Court announced their agreement to consider the possibility of reinstating a $500 million asbestos-related settlement involving Travelers Companies Inc. The company has been named in a number of suits alleging that they attempted to intentionally hide the dangerous nature of asbestos.
Exposure to asbestos may result in any one of a number of asbestos-related diseases that have a considerably long latency period. For this reason treatment options for the diagnosed are often very limited. Such diseases include mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
Asbestos was used in a variety of building and automotive materials throughout the early twentieth century. It was not until the late 1970’s that the dangerous substance began to become regulated. If the settlement was to be reinstated it would mean than no additional lawsuits can be filed against Travelers in the future.
It is the feeling of the company that settlements should be paid out of a trust fund set up largely by insurers and created by Johns Manville back in the 1980’s. The fund was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge who some think did not have the power to approve such decisions.
The decision of the bankruptcy judge was overturned by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. In March the Supreme Court will consider the extent of the bankruptcy judge’s power and make a decision on the settlement.
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