Asbestos and Other Mass Tort Reorganizations

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's lawyers have been representing key parties in asbestos-related matters since the resolution of mass tort issues first moved into the bankruptcy courts, and we remain among the field's most active firms.  We represent debtors, principal creditors and legal representatives for future claimants in numerous major cases, as well as asbestos claims settlement trusts established under confirmed plans.  One of the ways we have achieved unusual success for our clients is by implementing innovative alliances with representatives of tort claimants and focusing on insurance coverage.  Our focus is on employing the bankruptcy process to resolve the complex mass tort and financial issues facing our clients.

Selected significant current and recent matters include the representation of:

• Cooper Industries, Ltd., a principal creditor and holder of an indemnity claim of over $450 million in connection with the restructuring proceedings of Federal-Mogul, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of automotive and other products.
• The court-appointed future claimants representative in connection with the negotiation and successful confirmation of Combustion Engineering, Inc.'s plan of reorganization, which resulted in the establishment of a trust with over $1 billion in assets for the benefit of future asbestos claimants.  Orrick continues to represent the future claimants representative in connection with the trust as it processes and pays asbestos personal injury claims.
• The court-appointed future claimants representative in the ongoing restructuring proceedings of Congoleum Corporation, a flooring manufacturer, and its affiliates.
• The court-appointed future claimants representative in the ongoing Chapter 11 case of W.R. Grace & Co., a worldwide chemical company.
• Shook & Fletcher Insulation Co. in negotiating, litigating and confirming one of the first successful prepackaged asbestos Chapter 11 plans of reorganization.  We now serve as general counsel to the asbestos claims settlement trust established under the confirmed plan of reorganization.
• Western MacArthur Company and MacArthur Company as debtors' counsel to these former distributors of asbestos-containing products, in which a $2.1 billion trust was created to pay asbestos claims,  virtually all of which was funded by insurance carriers that claimed no liability to the debtors.  The shareholders' interests were not diluted.