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Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement
Insurance Bad Faith
Thornton & Naumes attorneys currently represent individuals and classes of plaintiffs in various jurisdictions against insurance companies involved in the handling and resolution of asbestos claims. The complaints against these companies allege that they breached their duties to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlement of asbestos personal injury and wrongful death claims under the laws of various states.
- What Is The Settlement About?
- What Could An Individual Get From The Settlement?
- How Do You Find Out If You Qualify For Payment?
- History Of The Litigation
This firm, along with others, has finalized a Settlement with Travelers Insurance Company (and its affiliates) that provides for the creation of a Fund of $360 Million from which you may be able to receive payment. The details of the settlement and the history of the litigation that resulted in the settlement are described below.
What Is The Settlement About?
The settlement covers all persons who resolved asbestos personal injury or wrongful death claims against a Travelers insured prior to November 9, 2001, and, at the time such claim was resolved, the person either resided in a "covered jurisdiction" or that person's claim was pending in a "covered jurisdiction." A "covered jurisdiction" is defined as a state whose laws, Travelers believes, might possibly recognize Third Party Settlement Practices Claims. Those states are Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, South Carolina and West Virginia.
As part of the settlement, Travelers will pay $360 million into a settlement fund to be used to settle the Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation. Compensation will be shared amongst all qualifying claimants in varying amounts based upon the claimant's specific injuries at the time their underlying asbestos personal injury or wrongful death claim was resolved. The parties have also agreed on settlement fund distribution procedures that, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, will provide for the amount of an individual's settlement.
In connection with the resolution of Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation against Travelers, the Bankruptcy Court will be issuing a finding that Third-Party Settlement Practices Claims such those being asserted here are in fact barred by certain injunctions issued by the Bankruptcy Court in the Johns-Manville bankruptcy.
What Could An Individual Get From The Settlement?
An individual settlement amount will be determined by a "point" system which assigns a certain number of "points" to the asbestos-related disease which was the subject of your resolved asbestos personal injury or wrongful death claim. Mesothelioma has been assigned 11 points, Lung Cancer has been assigned 4 points, Other Asbestos-Related Cancers have been assigned 2 points, and Non-Malignant Asbestos-Related Diseases (asbestosis or pleural disease) have been assigned 1 point. While it cannot be known at this time what the precise value of a "point" will be, based upon our current estimates, we believe that a point will have at least $1200 in value. That means that it is our current best-estimate that a person with a resolved Mesothelioma claim with a Travelers insured would receive approximately $13,200; a person with a resolved Lung Cancer claim with a Travelers insured would receive approximately $4,800; a person with a resolved Other Asbestos-Related Cancer claim with a Travelers insured would receive approximately $2,400; and a person with a resolved Non-Malignant Asbestos-Related Disease claim with a Travelers insured would receive approximately $1,200.
Final eligibility will be determined by the administrator of the settlement fund. As just stated, provided that an individual is determined to be an eligible claimant, we are not yet able to determine what the precise amount of the settlement offer from Travelers would be, since the value of each "point" cannot be determined until all eligible settlement claims have been submitted and the total points can be divided into the total amount of the settlement fund. The definitive offer that eventually will be made will follow the requirements of the settlement fund distribution procedures. These procedures and methods of determining values, as noted above, are subject to Bankruptcy Court approval.
How Do You Find Out If You Qualify For Payment?
If you are represented by an attorney in connection with your asbestos-related personal injury or wrongful-death claim, please contact that attorney for further information about this settlement. If you are not represented by an attorney, please review the Settlement Agreement and Fund Distribution Procedures which will help you to determine if you qualify. If you believe you may qualify for a payment or if you have any other questions, please contact this office so we may confirm your eligibility and assist you in filing the necessary documents. You may send an email to travelerssettlement@tenlaw.com or call 1-800-431-4600.
History Of The Litigation
Beginning in October, 2001, this firm and others, on behalf of a group of plaintiffs, filed a series of class action lawsuits against various insurance companies, including Travelers Indemnity Company and other related companies ("Travelers") that insured various companies which manufactured, distributed or sold asbestos-containing products.
This litigation has come to be termed the "Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation." These lawsuits were initially filed under certain statutes of the states of West Virginia and Massachusetts that permit victims to sue the insurance companies of opponents in litigation when those insurance companies engage in unfair settlement practices. In the Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation, the plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that Travelers and various other insurance companies engaged in certain litigation practices that resulted in the unfair resolution of their asbestos claims. Shortly after the filing of the lawsuits, Travelers and certain other insurers sought to enjoin the Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation by seeking relief from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Specifically, Travelers and these certain other insurers alleged that the Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation was barred by certain injunctions issued by the Bankruptcy Court in the Johns-Manville bankruptcy proceeding. The Bankruptcy Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order in favor of Travelers, ordered that the parties mediate their dispute, and appointed the former Governor of New York, the Hon. Mario Cuomo, as mediator. After more than a year of negotiations, Travelers and the named plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed in West Virginia and Massachusetts reached an agreement in principle to settle the Asbestos Insurance Statutory Direct Action Litigation, as described above.