My firm is conducting a survey of asbestos disease claimants, the results of which I will present to members of Congress as well the trustees who serve on the several major asbestos chapter 11 reorganizations. 

THIS IS A HYPOTHETICAL SURVEY. THE RESULTS WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR PAST OR FUTURE CLAIMS, YOUR CONTRACT WITH THIS OR ANY OTHER LAW OFFICE, OR ANY OTHER OBLIGATION.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO GIVE YOUR NAME.  WE WILL NOT SHARE ANY EMAIL ADDRESSES.

Your voice must be heard.  Please take a moment to answer the survey below regarding whether a slice of the $12-22 billion proposed asbestos victims bankruptcy trusts should set aside a small percentage for asbestos cancer research (detection, prevention, treatment and cure).

This is a survey that is intended for patients diagnosed with asbestos-related disease and/or their family members.  The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (www.marf.org) will use this information to both 1) lobby congress to appropriate money for asbestos medical research and 2) provide a basis for the trustees on the asbestos creditors committees for the ongoing chapter 11 debt reorganizations to allocate a percentage of the settlement trust for medical research. It is my belief that asbestos cancer victims want advocates who will fight hard not only for compensation, but also for a medical cure.

The National Cancer Institute, whose budget in 2004 is over $27.8 billion, over the past three years on average has funded basic and applied research on mesothelioma detection, prevention and treatment at about $1.7 million (most on clinical trials). Congress over the past several years has appropriated over $1.5 billion to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the funding and operation of breast and prostate cancer research and treatment programs. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have an ongoing program for the treatment of veterans stricken with mesothelioma, even though about 32% of the 2,500 to 3,000 Americans diagnosed with mesothelioma were exposed to asbestos while serving in the US Navy or working in naval shipyards (truly making mesothelioma a "war-related disability"). Although since the 1970's asbestos litigation has absorbed over $70 billion, the asbestos industry has never funded any research programs to help diagnose, prevent or treat mesothelioma. Congress has never appropriated any funding to any federal agency for the purpose of diagnosing or treating mesothelioma.

There are currently over 10 major former asbestos defendants who are restructuring (relieving) their asbestos liabilities in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy courts.*   Each debtor will eventually set aside a sum of money in trust to be paid out to asbestos disease claimants.  Although we will not know the exact dollar value of the respective trusts until they are approved by the courts, insiders estimate that the total value of eleven (11) of the future asbestos trust funds will hover between $12 and $2e billion. Over 30 companies have sought shelter in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy courts since 2000.  For many of these debtors, business is thriving and profits are good.

For each debtor's litigation, the bankruptcy court has chosen a group of creditors (mainly asbestos trial lawyers) to serve as trustees for present and future asbestos claimants. The trustees have a fiduciary duty to manage the trust fund in the interest of past, present and future asbestos claimants, who are in effect "creditors."  The bankruptcy code does not expressly mandate that the trustees set aside funds from the trust for medical research on diagnosing, preventing or treating mesothelioma. In fact, many trustees can credibly argue that if they attempted to set aside money for research, they might be violating their express fiduciary duty to asbestos victim creditors (the premise being that creditors want money only).  For each debtor bankruptcy, there are multiple creditors committees wrangling to snatch as big a piece of the debtor's pie as possible.

In order to approve a trust's distribution plan, the trustees generally need the approval of a majority of the asbestos claimants.  MARF advocates two things: (1) Congress needs to immediately amend Section 524g of the Bankruptcy Code to expressly authorize the trustees to set aside a reasonable percentage of the trust for asbestos disease medical research, and (2) until such congressional action is taken, trustees for present and future asbestos claimants should immediately exercise their implied powers to protect the rights of asbestos victims by setting aside a reasonable percentage of the trust for asbestos disease medical research. 

Because a trustee may be reluctant to "chart new waters," we are conducting this poll among asbestos disease claimants (the beneficiaries of the trusts) to learn your preference on whether money should be set aside for medical research.  Theoretically, the settlement trusts belong to those sickened by asbestos.  Common sense dictates that a trustee for future claimants would applaud efforts by past and present disease trustees to dedicate a slice of the debtor's trust to a fund designed to either prevent future claimants or extend the latters' lives.

Please take a moment to answer the following questions. This survey is for patients with asbestos disease and members of their family.

1.  Disease status

I have:		A relative of mine has:
Mesothelioma   Lung Cancer   Asbestosis   Other		Mesothelioma   Lung Cancer   Asbestosis   Other