Funds Received Ratio
Posted 06/13/2018
At the request of the Trust Advisory Committee, analyses of the Funds Receive Ratio were considered in April and May 2018. The Funds Received Ratio remains at 8.6% of the total liquidated claim value.
NOTICE TO BENEFICIARIES AND POTENTIAL BENEFICIARIES OF THE J.T. THORPE SETTLEMENT TRUST, THORPE INSULATION SETTLEMENT TRUST, WESTERN ASBESTOS SETTLEMENT TRUST AND PLANT ASBESTOS SETTLEMENT TRUST
Posted 06/05/2018
Following appeals by Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law Firm from a Stipulation placed on the record in open court on January 23, 2014 in Declaratory Relief Adversary Proceedings filed by the J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust and the Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust regarding the Trusts’ conduct in investigating Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law Firm, and the Order Following Trial and related documents, the Bankruptcy Court again ruled in favor of the Trusts and reaffirmed its Order Following Trial, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, and Judgment. For additional information, please see the Supplemental Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Following Remand and Judgment Following Remand. Mr. Mandelbrot initially filed appeals from these orders, but has since agreed to dismiss those appeals. For additional information, please see the Joint Stipulation Dismissing Appeal and Order Granting Joint Stipulation Dismissing Appeal. As a result, litigation concerning Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law Firm has now been fully and finally resolved. The Trusts urge beneficiaries and potential claimants considering filing claims against the Trusts to carefully review these documents before retaining counsel.
Plant Asbestos Tolling Period
Posted 05/12/2015
Section 5.4(a)(2) of the Plant Trust Distribution Procedures originally provided that the Statutes of Limitation and Repose (“Limitations”) for claims which arose before the May 20, 2009 filing of the Petition in Bankruptcy (“Petition Date”) would be tolled through February 23, 2016. In 2017, the Trustees, with the consent of the Trust Advisory Committee and the Futures Representative, further extended post-bankruptcy tolling of Limitations.
To avoid Limitations, claims for decedents who passed away:
i) prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition, and not otherwise barred as of the Petition Date, must be filed with the Trust on or before September 30, 2018;
ii) between the Petition Date and September 30, 2017, and not currently in litigation in California, must be filed with the Trust on or before September 30, 2018.
Claims that do not fall into the above two categories will be subject to Trust Distribution Procedures Section 5.3 which states, “The statute of limitations and the choice of law determined applicable to claims against the Trust shall be determined by reference to the Tort System where a claim against the Debtor was pending on the filing date of the case (so long as Plant was subject to personal jurisdiction in that location), or where such a claim could have been timely filed as asserted by the claimant or Injured Person”.
If you have any questions, please contact the Claims Manager at 775-324-5511.
Reminder of Policy Regarding Claims in Certain Statuses
Posted 05/15/2018
The Trust would like to remind firms regarding the policy on the length of time claims are allowed to remain in certain statuses.
The policy is as follows:
The Trust can deem a claim withdrawn after the claim has been placed on “Hold/Deferred”, in “Reviewed Deficient” status, or in “Offer Made” status and remains in one of those statuses for six (6) months. Upon request and for good cause, the Trust may extend this period for an additional six (6) months. After the extended period, the Trust will deem the claim withdrawn.
In addition, claims that remain in an “Incomplete” status will be withdrawn after two weeks.
According to the Trust Distribution Procedures, the existing statute of limitations for the claim will not be affected by the withdrawal, only its place in the FIFO queue. “A claimant can withdraw a Trust Claim at any time upon written notice to the Trust and file another claim subsequently without affecting the status of the claim for statute of limitations purposes, but any such claim filed after the withdrawal shall be given a place in the FIFO Processing Queue based on the date of such subsequent filing.” TDP Section 6.3.
Any claim that is withdrawn or rejected may be resubmitted, but a new $250 filing fee will be required.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Trust at support@524gtrust.com.
Modifications to Site List
Posted 05/15/2018
The following modifications to the Plant Land Site List were approved at the April 2018 Trustees’ Meeting:
|
Site |
City |
State |
Start Date |
End Date |
Rating |
|
Alameda County Courthouse- 1225 Fallon Street |
Oakland |
CA |
2/22/1971 |
12/31/1978 |
Very Low |
|
Benicia High School |
Benicia |
CA |
1/1/1961 |
12/31/1978 |
Very Low |
|
Best Fertilizer Plant |
Lahrop/Stockton |
CA |
7/1/1954 |
12/31/1978 |
Standard |
|
Flintkote Plant |
San Leandro/ Fremont |
CA |
1/1/1965 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
Hunt Foods |
Hayward |
CA |
5/5/1960 |
12/31/1960 |
Standard |
|
Hunt Foods |
Hayward |
CA |
1/1/1961 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
Lucky Lager Brewery |
San Francisco |
CA |
3/10/1955 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
United Technologies |
Coyote |
CA |
11/1/1960 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
San Francisco International Airport |
San Francisco |
CA |
6/25/1957 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
PG&E Kern Power Plant |
Bakersfield |
CA |
8/1/1961 |
12/31/1978 |
Standard |
|
Mother’s Cakes & Cookies |
Oakland |
CA |
1/1/1965 |
12/31/1978 |
Standard |
|
Todd Shipyard – SITE NAME Change ONLY |
San Francisco |
CA |
1/1/1950 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
Simpson Paper Plant |
Ripon |
CA |
1/1/1950 |
12/31/1962 |
Standard |
|
Simpson Paper Plant |
Ripon |
CA |
1/1/1963 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
|
Bethlehem Steel Shipyard |
San Francisco |
CA |
1/1/1952 |
12/31/1978 |
Low |
Annual Report
Posted 04/26/2018
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Plant Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Sixth Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Hannah L. Blumenstiel, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 16th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102 in Courtroom 19.
Updated Case Valuation Matrix
Posted 04/11/2018
The Third Amended and Completely Restated Plant Insulation Company Asbestos Settlement Trust Case Valuation Matrix containing the approved modifications relating to serious asbestosis and the indexed base case values for economic and medical loss is now available on the trust documents page or by clicking the link in this posting.
Reminder re: Timing of Requests for Consideration at the April 2018 Trustees’ Meeting
Posted 03/05/2018
As a reminder, March 12, 2018 is the deadline for submitting requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during the April 2018 Trustees’ meeting.
2018 Indexed Base Case Values for Economic and Medical Loss
Posted 02/07/2018
The new indexed base cases values for 2018 are as follows:
2018 Economic Loss Base Case $209,320
2018 Medical Loss Base Case $213,900
2018 Assumed Future Medical Loss and Funeral Expenses $80,213