July 27, 2006 Update: On March 29, 2006, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered an Opinion and Order affirming the Bankruptcy Court’s approval of the settlements in all respects except that it vacated the “gatekeeper” provision of the Travelers Common Law Direct Action Settlement (which was covered by the same Order that approved the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement).
Five notices of appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals were filed from the March 29, 2006 District Court opinion. Because of these appeals, the Order has not become a Final Order within the meaning of the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement. A Final Order is one of the conditions precedent for the funding of the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement Fund and payment of qualifying claims from that Fund
Notices of appeal were filed by three insurance companies -- Continental, OneBeacon and Chubb -- and two groups of asbestos plaintiff objectors to the Travelers Common Law Direct Action Settlement. The Travelers Common Law Direct Action Settlement is a distinct settlement from the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement, although both settlements, as noted above, were approved in the same Order.
OneBeacon has subsequently dropped its appeal. The Second Circuit has entered a briefing schedule and informed the parties that oral argument on the appeals may be heard as early as the week of November 7, 2006.
February 24, 2006 Update: On February 22, 2006, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York heard oral argument on the appeals of the Bankruptcy Court's August 17, 2004 "Order Approving Settlement of the Statutory, Hawaii and Common Law Direct Actions and Clarifying Confirmation Order, Including Insurance Settlement Order and Channeling Injunction." The District Court took the matter under advisement. Further updates will be posted as they become appropriate.
On Friday, August 27, Chubb Indemnity Insurance Company, Continental Casualty Company and OneBeacon America Insurance Company filed notices of appeal of the "Order Approving Settlement of the Statutory, Hawaii and Common Law Direct Actions and Clarifying Confirmation Order, Including Insurance Settlement Order and Channeling Injunction." Also on Friday, the Asbestos Personal Injury Plaintiffs and the Cascino Asbestos Claimants have filed a motion to amend the findings and for a new trial. Unless and until these appeals and this motion are favorably disposed of, the joint order approving the three settlements, which includes the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement, cannot become a Final Order. Accordingly, the 90-day claims filing deadline provided for in the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement has not yet begun to run. Please continue to check this website regularly for additional updates.
At a status conference yesterday
(Tuesday, August 17, 2004), the United States Bankruptcy
Court for the Southern District of New York entered an
order approving the Travelers Statutory Direct Action
Settlement and the Clarifying Order required by the
settlement. As part of that order, the Court also
approved the Travelers Hawaii Direct Action Settlement
and the Travelers Common Law Direct Action Settlement
and the Clarifying Orders required by those settlements.
Additionally, the Court overruled those objections to
the settlements that were not withdrawn. A copy of this
Order can be found on this website by clicking on the
Downloads link.
Upon the order becoming a Final Order as that term is
defined in the Travelers Statutory Direct Action
Settlement and the Travelers Hawaii Direct Action
Settlement, and the deposit into escrow of 49,000
releases by persons holding statutory direct action
claims, the conditions precedent for the funding of the
Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement Fund will
have been met, and the fund will be funded by Travelers.
The fund Administrator will then begin processing claims
and, in due course, begin paying Qualifying Claimants.
Under the Travelers Statutory Direct Action
Settlement, once the order becomes a Final Order,
Eligible Claimants will have 90 days to submit their
claim forms and releases to the settlement fund
Administrator -- the CRMC.
You are encouraged to review the Travelers Statutory
Direct Action Settlement and its accompanying fund
distribution procedures to familiarize yourself with the
procedures. These documents can be found on this
website.
If and when the order becomes a Final Order, a
posting will be made on this website.
Welcome to Direct Action Settlement
Dear Potentially Affected Asbestos Claimant:
Thank you for visiting
www.DirectActionSettlement.com. On this website are
important documents pertaining to the Travelers
Statutory Direct Action Settlement. Please review these
documents carefully as this settlement may affect your
rights.
If you would like to receive copies of the notice-related materials pertaining to the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement found on this website, you may call 1-866-839-3261 and request that a packet containing them be sent to you. The packet contains:
1. A copy of the Court-approved Notice;
2. A copy of the Travelers Statutory Direct Action Settlement Agreement (as amended), which includes as exhibits a copy of the proposed Order Approving Settlement of the Statutory Direct Action Claims and Clarifying Confirmation Order, a specimen copy of the General Release and a copy of the settlement Fund Distribution Procedures; and
3. A copy of the Scheduling Order.
There is a hearing scheduled for
May 3, 2004 to approve this settlement and entry of the
proposed clarifying order. All objections to the proposed
settlement and clarifying order must be filed with the Court no later than
April 29, 2004 in accordance with the procedures
contained in the Scheduling Order
.
If you are represented
by an attorney in connection with any asbestos-related
personal injury or wrongful death claim you may have
filed, please contact that attorney for further
information about this settlement.
If you are not represented by an
attorney, and after review of these materials you have
any questions about the proposed settlement, please call
1-866-839-3261 or contact any of
Settlement Counsel directly at the numbers / e-mail
addresses provided below. Likewise, if after review of
these materials you believe you would be eligible for
payment under the settlement and would like to submit a
claim against the settlement fund, please call
1-866-839-3261 or contact any of
Settlement Counsel directly at the numbers / e-mail
addresses provided below to request a copy of the claim
form and the release. There is a deadline for
submitting a settlement fund claim form. All settlement
fund claim forms must be submitted within 90 days of the
entry of the final order
. That date has not been determined yet, but it will be published on this website once it is determined.
PLEASE DO NOT SIGN OR SEND IN THE RELEASE FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE; IT IS ONLY A SAMPLE.
Sincerely,
Settlement Counsel
