The Bottom Line

From 1994 to 1995, some of the major asbestos manufacturer defendants noted an increase in the number of asbestos personal injury claims filed against them, including....

Owens Corning

  • Saw an increase of 92 percent from 29,100 claims in 1994 to 55,900 in 1995. Some of this can be attributed to mass screening programs. OC filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) suit against a pulmonary testing laboratory for allegedly falsifying medical reports and reclassified about 40,000 claims the it felt were baseless. OC has reported that as of December 31, 1995, about 144,200 claims were pending against it and 160,600 claims were resolved by the end of the year.
  • The total reserve for asbestos litigation claims was $1.137 billion as of the end of 1995 compared to $1.4 billion in 1994. The insurance for asbestos claims topped $430 million for 1995 compared to $681 million in 1994. This left a net liability of $707 million for 1995 (compared to $764 million for 1994).

Fibreboard Corp.

  • Saw an increase of 492 percent from 3,500 claims in 1994 to 20,731 in 1995. Fibreboard reported that 48,000 claims were pending at the end of 1995, up from 41,900 in 1994.
  • Fibreboard reported that in 1995 it settled 10,672 claims which was down from the 15,185 claims settled in 1994.

U.S. Gypsum Corp.

  • Saw a decrease in claims of 13,000 in 1995 compared to 14,000 filed in 1994. Approximately 17,600 cases were settled in 1995 compared to 23,000 in 1994.
  • The claims against USG cost them $32.1 million in 1995, of which $30.9 of which was paid for by insurance. As of the end of the year, 50,000 personal injury cases were pending against USG which showed a drop compared to the 54,000 in 1994.
  • USG reported that it had approximately $465 million in insurance coverage available by the end of 1995 for asbestos personal injury and property litigation.

Owens-Illinois Inc.

  • Saw a decrease in claims of 19,000 in 1995 compared to 27,000 filed in 1994. Disposed of 23,000 claims in 1995 compared to 20,000 in 1994.
  • The number of new claims filed increased to 15,000 from 12,000 for 1994.

W.R. Grace & Co.

  • Saw an increase of 36 percent from 67,900 reported in 1994 to 92,400 in 1995.

Johns Manville

  • Settled more than 25,000 claims and paid out more than $122 million to claimants during the first six months of 1996.

  • As of June, 1996, the trust had approximately $1.1 billion in unrestricted cash equivalents and marketable securities, excluding its investment in Schuller Corp. The trust had total assets of approximately $2.5 billion and approximately $106 million in outstanding offers to approximately 26,000 claimants.