Asbestos Negotiations With Retired Judge Unsuccess

Washington, DC, May 11--Progress was made during months of talks to achieve an asbestos-lawsuit reform bill that would establish a trust fund to handle all claims, but the head of the American Insurance Association said it has reached the point of being "politically unattainable" and the time has come to try a new approach. Two weeks of negotiations with Chief Judge Emeritus Edward Becker of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ended May 6 without an agreement on S. 2290, legislation to establish a national trust fund for asbestos victims. Party leaders in the Senate said progress has been made and the asbestos bill is still alive, with Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., saying May 7 he and Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., will continue talking during the week of May 10 to resolve significant gaps remaining on important issues. The AIA and insurers remain supporters of asbestos-litigation reform, but it's time for Congress to consider alternatives to the current trust fund approach and redouble efforts to enact a bill that gets money to the truly sick, according to Robert Vagley, AIA president. "However, while some progress was made during months of good faith discussions among organized labor, defendant companies and insurers, several extremely complex and inter-related issues remain far from resolution," Vagley said in a statement. "Meanwhile, ongoing litigation and mass settlements continue shifting the financial foundation on which a national trust fund would stand." With the passage of time, a trust fund becomes even less economically viable because more and more of the money that would go to the fund is "siphoned off by the out-of-control litigation system," he said. An efficient exclusive remedy for victims, and equity, certainty and finality for all stakeholders is politically unattainable, Vagley said. Insurers want a trust fund for individuals dying of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, and for the tens of thousands of American workers and retirees financially devastated as companies that had little or nothing to do with asbestos are driven into bankruptcy by asbestos litigation. Business, represented by the Asbestos Alliance, will continue talking with Senate leaders in the hopes of getting a bill that all parties can agree to, according to Mike Baroody, chair of the Alliance Steering Committee and executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers. "Without legislation victims will face delayed and reduced compensation, and more companies will go bankrupt," Baroody said in a statement. Frist attempted to get S. 2290 on the Senate calendar for debate, but didn't get enough votes in April to bring the bill to the floor without threat of a filibuster. He and Daschle continued talks for two weeks with Becker, serving as a mediator. Becker has been involved in talks with the affected parties since last summer.

Print the Article