Answers to FAQ's Regarding Asbestos Bankruptcies
Time to put in one place some answers to questions I'm repeatedly asked or ask myself. The list will expand over time.
1) Where are Updated Lists of Asbestos Bankruptcy Cases? Believe it or not, you can find online a very useful set of lists of asbestos bankruptcy cases, including citations to published opinions in the cases. This link will take you to this set of lists thoughtfully maintained in public view by a team of bright lawyers at Crowell & Moring. The team is led by Mark Plevin, and represents insurers in many asbestos bankruptcy cases. They kindly provide periodic updates to the lists and post them online. Just go to this page of the Crowell web site and choose the list you want.
2) Where Are Periodic Commentaries Summarizing the Status of Asbestos Bankruptcies ? The Crowell & Moring team also has published a series of five articles with expert commentary on the status of and key issues in asbestos bankruptcy cases. The articles are titled "Where Are They Now" and can be found at the same page as the bankruptcy lists. Reading these summaries provides a great, manageable lesson in how the cases and issues have evolved.
3) How Much Money Do the Asbestos Trusts Have ? This answer is harder because of course the amount keeps changing. As of November, 2006, the answer was: about $ 30 billion. That answer is set out in an excellent article by economists Charlie Bates and Charlie Mullin who lead an expert team at economic consulting firm Bates White. They know the asbestos bankruptcy topic quite thoroughly. The article's title is "Having Your Tort and Eating it Too?"
Where is the free web site for the Pittsburg-Corning website ? It's online here.
