W.R. Grace proposes Libby settlement including funding asbestos trust with $19.5 million
by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio
February 4, 2012
W. R. Grace & Co. has announced agreements in principle to settle objections to the joint plan by the Libby claimants and BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad) and those parties would forego any further appeals to the plan.
Among the items covered in the agreements is a requirement for Grace to turn the currently Grace-operated Libby Medical Program over to a locally administered trust, and to fund the trust with $19.5 million. Grace began the Libby Medical Program in 2000 and has spent more than $20 million on the health care of the participants over the last 11 years. Once the trust assumes responsibility for the Libby Medical Program, Grace will no longer have any operational, funding or other responsibility for the program.
In addition to amounts funded by Grace under the agreements in principle, settlements involving BNSF, its insurers and the Libby claimants will provide the Libby claimants with additional money. Payments to Libby claimants under the joint plan are not affected by the Grace-Libby agreement regarding Libby Medical Program responsibilities, and would begin shortly after the joint plan becomes effective.
In addition, several months ago, a Helena District Court judge ordered the state to pay $43 million to victims of asbestos exposure from the Libby W.R. Grace mine.
Grace filed for protection under Chapter 11 in 2001. Its joint plan was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in January 2011. January 31, 2012, the U.S. District Court issued an order denying all appeals of the confirmation order and affirming the Plan in its entirety.
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by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com e-mail: klcb@frontiernet.net.
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