Biopharmaceutical Cancer Genomics

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that had barred Travelers Insurance Company’s settlement of asbestos-related litigation. As a result, Travelers Insurance will settle asbestos-related litigation for a total of nearly $500 million, and new lawsuits against Travelers resulting from its relationship with former asbestos giant Johns-Manville are barred. Travelers was Johns-Manville’s primary insurer from 1947 - 1976. Johns Manville Corp., once the largest miner and manufacturer of asbestos and asbestos-containing products, filed for bankruptcy in the 1980s; as a result, a trust fund was created for future victims of its asbestos products, to which Travelers Insurance contributed $80 million at the time. Travelers later agreed to settlements in 2003 and 2004 with several groups of plaintiffs, provided future similar lawsuits were barred. The settlement was approved in 2006, but overturned last year by a U.S. Court of Appeals on the ground that the judge who approved the settlement lacked authority to bar new lawsuits. The supreme court reversed in a 7 - 2 vote. Writing for the majority, Justice David Souter said the judge’s orders barred state civil actions against Travelers based on allegations of its own wrongdoing while acting as Johns-Manville’s insurer, due to the finality of the 1986 orders that established the bankruptcy trust fund.

For more information, go to Reuters.