As a native of Western Montana, a news story that caught my eye today was a report that mining company R.W. Grace & Co. agreed to pay the United States $250 million for EPA cleanup costs associated with asbestos contamination in the town of Libby, Montana. See, e.g. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031200975.html. Today’s agreement involved reimbursement under the Superfund environmental cleanup law, not for civil liability, but R.W. Grace & Co. had previously been the subject of a civil class action and individual civil suits arising from its alleged acts in causing the contamination. The company then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which resulted in various proof of claim deadlines being established for various personal injury and other claims pending before the bankruptcy filing, including those raised in the class action. See www.graceclaims.com for information about the bankruptcy deadlines. Today’s agreement is still subect to bankrupcy court approval.
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Paul Karlsgodt
Raj Chohan
CAB Staff
