US High Court Bars New Johns-Manville Claims Against Travelers
June 18 2009 - 11:11AM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Supreme Court in a 7-2 ruling on Thursday said a 1986
global asbestos settlement shields The Travelers Cos. Inc. (TRV)
from new asbestos claims relating to Johns-Manville Corp.
Justice David Souter, in the court's majority, said an
injunction and federal bankruptcy court orders barring additional
asbestos claims "generally stands in the way of challenging the
enforceability of the injunction."
The opinion is a win for Travelers Cos., which in lower courts
was potentially exposed to new asbestos lawsuits. Travelers has
already agreed to a $500 million settlement covering Johns-Manville
related asbestos claims.
Travelers was exposed to asbestos lawsuits through its insurance
policies with Johns-Manville.
The insurer had asked the high court to overturn a ruling from
the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that had
potentially exposed it to a new set of lawsuits filed in 2002.
Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
dissented.
The case is Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Bailey, 08-295.
-By Mark H. Anderson, Dow Jones Newswires, 202 862-9254;
mark.anderson@dowjones.com