Clare
Revised Project Proposal: Asbestos Litigation
ENWR 380
For almost twenty five years, experts in the law profession have been trying to settle the
asbestos litigation. Currently, the defendant companies that manufacture asbestos have drafted a
disclosure statement that summarizes their plan for asbestos litigation settlement. I plan to help
rewrite one of the three settlement trusts in order to make it into a more comprehensible format.
In order to explain the settlement trusts, I must first give some background information
on asbestos. Asbestos is a group of natural fibrous silicate minerals that are added into
fireproofing sprays, drywall products, textures, insulation, and many other construction
materials. Persons that inhale asbestos fibres can become infected with three pulmonary health
disorders such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The total number of asbestos claims
filed from the beginning of asbestos litigation exceeds 600,000, and 200,000 of these claims are
still pending (RAND).
The defendant companies, including Owens Corning and its affiliates, have already paid
approximately $54 billion in claims and related costs. (Claimants only receive 43 cents of every
dollar spent towards litigation.) The total cost of asbestos liability could reach $265 billion by
the end of the settlement. And since asbestos makers span 85% of the US economy, the overall
US economy is suffering from the loss of jobs, pensions, falling stock prices, and higher
insurance costs,.
In 1993, twenty defendant companies in the Center for Claims Resolution agreed on a
settlement with the plaintiff attorneys; however, the Third Circuit of Appeals overturned this
agreement. Since then, plaintiff attorneys and victims as well as the defendants have been
working towards another settlement. In August, law experts created a disclosure statement that
summarizes the new distribution plan, including the various trusts that have been set up for the
asbestos victims.
One of the trusts, the Personal Injury Trust, has not been approved and is being reviewed
by the Asbestos Claimants’ Committee. The Personal Injury Trust is a document that describes
the course of action to distribute money to victims based on the severity and progression of their
health problems (asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma). This document has not been
approved yet because it needs to be rewritten into a more understandable document instead of its
present highly legal jargon.
I plan to rewrite this document, in order the make this distribution plan comprehensible to
the asbestos victims, instead of just their attorneys. It is very important for asbestos victims to
understand exactly how money is going to be distributed to them. My audience will primarily be
the plaintiff lawyers, but hopefully, this document will present a more lucid statement to their
clients concerning how the money in the trust will be allocated. My goal is to finish this
document as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that thousands of seriously ill victims will be
given monetary compensation and will understand on what basis they are receiving that money.
Once this lawsuit is settled, hopefully asbestos victims will finally have enough money to
manage and resolve their debilitating health conditions.
As for my qualifications, I have taken an extensive array of English courses as well as
some political science. For most of my life, I have been exposed to various legal processes, and
feel comfortable with the basic background of asbestos litigation. This document is a very
verbose and detailed account of the asbestos litigation, and I expect to have some difficulties
with various legal terms and legal references. However, I have access to knowledgeable legal
expertise that will aid me in this project.
Although this brief will prove to be a challenge for me, I have read and comprehended
the Personal Injury Trust fairly thoroughly. In order to fully comprehend the document, I will
begin to prepare a more specific background research of asbestos and asbestos litigation. The
following is my task breakdown for the semester:
Sept. 29: Research asbestos litigation background more fully. Begin reading “The Tragedy of
the Asbestos Commons” and “An Analysis of Mass Torts for Judges”
Oct. 6: Finish reading the articles, and make a short sketch of asbestos litigation up to present
date.
Oct 13: Begin review and rewrite of distribution trust.
Oct. 20: Finish rewriting first half of document.
Oct. 27: Critique and rewrite second part of document.
Nov 3: Critique and rewrite second draft of document.
Nov. 10- Dec 1: Finish final editing and revisions.