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Johns-Manville Still Making News with Lawsuits
Johns-Manville Corporation is still making news years after a
wave of asbestos-related lawsuits forced the company into chapter
11 bankruptcy. Quoted in current lawsuits in McLean County, Illinois
and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Johns-Manville has become
part of the culture of mesothelioma
lawsuits and other asbestos-related illness cases.
In an $850,000 jury award in McLean County,
one of the most damaging pieces of evidence in the lawsuit
was a communication sent from another asbestos manufacturer,
Bendix to a Johns-Manville employee.
According to the Bloomington, Illinois Pantagraph,
"The Bendix employee told the Manville employee he
was sending him an article about the harmful effects of
exposure to asbestos, and he (the Bendix employee) said,
'My answer to the problem is this: If you have enjoyed
a good life working with asbestos, why not die from it?'"
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As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Johns-Manville was required
to set up a trust fund for the number of claimants that was supposed
to reach only 100,000. Critics at the time argued that the trust
fund was woefully under funded and in time, the critics proved
correct as the number of claimants blossomed to well over 280,000.
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