ERIE, Pa. (Legal Newsline) – Honeywell should have to bat second in an upcoming trial as it seeks to prove those in charge of doling out asbestos money are making it rain on plaintiffs lawyers.
The trustees of the North American Refractories Company asbestos trust (NARCO) are accused of turning a blind eye to asbestos lawyers filling out obviously fraudulent claims. Honeywell, which is tasked with funding the NARCO trust, has initiated legal action to force the NARCO trust to be more stringent when reviewing claim forms.
A trial is scheduled for May 23 in Erie, Pa., federal court before bankruptcy judge Thomas Agresti. The NARCO trust wants to go first.
“In essence, this case is about the Trustees’ discretionary decision-making and the future administration of the Trust,” wrote attorneys at Babst, Calland, Clements & Zomnir and Willkie Farr & Gallagher for the NARCO trust.
“That story begins with an overview of what the Trust has done since dismissal of the initial case, continues with a description of how the Trustees are currently administering the Trust and why, proceeds with Honeywell’s claims of abuse of discretion, and concludes with the Court’s declaration of the rights and obligations of the parties going forward.
“The relevant events and decisions should be presented in a coherent timeline, first by representatives of the Trust, providing a strong foundation for the issues to be adjudicated.”
The NARCO trust, like dozens of others created by once-popular defendants in asbestos lawsuits, was established to pay claimants in a more expedient and less costly manner than litigation.
In September, Honeywell filed its complaints that the NARCO trust is paying millions of dollars to claimants who do not have credible evidence of exposure to NARCO products. A return to accepting simple form submissions from claimants has created a windfall for lawyers, the company says.
A subpoena targeted Maryland asbestos lawyer Peter Nicholl, who has earned more than $85 million for his clients from the NARCO trust, Honeywell says. The company wanted documents regarding more than 1,600 of Nicholl’s clients.
Nicholl’s clients are remarkable for their pristine memory of NARCO products at their worksites decades earlier, the company claims. It thinks he fills in the blanks for them, then files requests for compensation with the NARCO trust that are rubber-stamped.
Since the trust began accepting forms again, Nicholl has made $46 million in two years, Honeywell says. The company’s litigation filed in September seeks to end the acceptance of those forms.