Asbestos Trusts / Trusts Database / GAF Corporation

Asbestos Trust Claims: Compensation is Available Without Filing a Lawsuit

Asbestos companies and their insurers placed close to $30 Billion dollars into trust funds to pay people who were injured by asbestos. But nearly 40% of the funds have still gone unclaimed by the victims. You may be entitled to a portion of these funds.

Applying for asbestos trust fund compensation is not getting into a fight.

This money was set aside in a trust account for those who were injured.

Applying for a payment from these trusts is not affecting any company or coming out of anyone’s pocket. This is insurance money specifically to help people hurt by asbestos. 

The court ordered the funds because the asbestos industry could no longer hide its secret: asbestos is very dangerous to breathe.

G-I Holdings, Inc. Corporation Asbestos Trust

Company Founding	1939
Core Businesses:	manufacture of building materials; mining raw asbestos
Bankruptcy	District of New Jersey (2001)
Year Trust was Founded	2009
Assets at Founding	~ $735,050,000
Assets as of 2022	$298,975,718
Payment Percentage	5%
Amount of Money Paid To Date	> $342 million
Number of Claims Paid	25,662

Company Summary

German company I.G. Farben expanded in 1939 when it opened an American division in New Jersey; that same year, it acquired General Aniline Works, merged with Afga-Ansco Corporation, and became General Aniline and Film (GAF).

• In the early days of the company and even into the 1970s, it was involved in the manufacture of film and photography supplies. 

• What GAF became known for, however, was a line of construction materials for roofing, siding, insulation, paint, and tile and flooring materials.

• When the United States entered World War II, the federal government seized GAF and took control of the company until 1965, due to its German affiliation. 

• Once the company went public, it acquired Ruberoid Company; Ruberoid became known as GAF Materials Corporation, and GAF became GAF Corporation in 1968. 

• Ruberoid is a well-known asbestos company which manufactured roofing supplies. This acquisition is the entrance point for GAF into the asbestos industry.

• Not only did it gain a line of products with the purchase, but it also gained ownership of an asbestos mine in Lowell, Vermont.

• After the 1980s, GAF became known as G-I Holdings, Inc.

Workers Generally Eligible for the G-I Holdings, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust:

Workers who may have been at risk of exposure to asbestos from GAF products include:

Construction / Demo workers	Miners	Insulators
Roofers	Contractors	Laborers

Miners, construction workers, roofers, contractors, and insulation workers were all among the trades that risked developing asbestos related diseases from working for GAF or with GAF products. Consumers who purchased the products for use on other sites and factory workers manufacturing the products were also at risk. 

The mine was shut down in 1975, yet GAF products contained asbestos into 1981.

Secondary Asbestos Exposure

Spouses and household members of workers may qualify for the GAF Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust as well.

People who brought home asbestos on their work clothes may have also been exposed in their homes and vehicles. This especially includes anyone who regularly laundered asbestos-tainted work clothes. Asbestos is dusty and durable, and anyone who spent time in a garage or small laundry room breathing it in could have been at risk.

GAF Trust History

Reportedly, GAF faced seventy thousand (70,000) asbestos injury cases from the years 1996-2000. This burden pushed the company to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on January 5, 2001.

Its bankruptcy trust was finalized eight (8) years later, in 2009.

In 2009, GAF created the G-I Holdings, Inc. Personal Injury Settlement Trust under its Chapter 11 Joint Plan of Reorganization. The current payment percentage is 7.4%.

GAF states that it created the trust to “process, liquidate, and pay valid Asbestos Personal Injury Claims” in accordance with procedures set forth in the Trust Distribution Procedures (“TDP”). The purpose of the payment percentage is to ensure that the Trust has funds for present and future claimants.
The GAF Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust has established forms and procedures to apply and collect compensation from the trust. You can learn more on their website.

In 2022, 20,793 claims were filed with the Trust, according to its annual financial report.

The report also details that $28,617,042 was paid out in claims in 2022, contributing to the total of $342,665,128 the Trust has paid since it was established.

Important Facts About Asbestos Trust Compensation for People with Asbestos Illnesses

Depending on where you worked, or how you were exposed to asbestos, you may qualify to file claims with more than one asbestos trust. Different occupations worked with different types of asbestos products. The location of the work – the actual job site – also impacts which claims may be filed. Every case is unique, and thousands of clients have been able to receive compensation from multiple asbestos trusts.

Filing claims with asbestos trusts is a separate act than filing a lawsuit against certain companies. It is possible, however, to file a lawsuit and additionally file claims with asbestos trusts. This determination is made on a case-by-case basis depending on each client’s work and/or exposure history. Companies that are not bankrupt are eligible to be sued in a lawsuit, while bankrupt companies are those that were ordered to establish asbestos bankruptcy trusts.

The asbestos trusts exist for the purpose of awarding compensation to qualifying claimants. The courts designated that money be specifically set aside to provide payment to those individuals injured by asbestos. You do not have to be retired to file a claim, and the claim does not affect your current or previous employer(s), or any benefits you may already receive. If you worked with products or at a job site that was owned by a company that has established an asbestos trust, you may meet the criteria for compensation. 

Asbestos use was extremely common in the U.S. military for decades. Navy ships were built using asbestos insulation to ensure they were fireproof. The boiler rooms on the ships were full of asbestos insulation, gaskets, and valves used on the various types of equipment. Military tanks and vehicles used asbestos containing brake parts as well as gaskets and valves. 

Some military jobs, such as mechanics, boilermakers, and pipefitters, to name a few, would cause servicemembers to be directly exposed to asbestos. Other jobs required that work be done near those using or working with asbestos, which still put those workers at risk. A military veteran’s benefits will not be affected by filing asbestos trust claims; this is true even if you already receive disability benefits from the VA. 

Although asbestos trust claims are not lawsuits, they are subject to the same time limitations that lawsuits are. 

These laws are called Statutes of Limitation. 

Statutes of limitation specify how much time a person has to file a lawsuit.

If a person waits too long, they lose the right to file a lawsuit.

Every state puts limits on how long individuals have to file lawsuits on their own behalf or on behalf of a deceased loved one. These laws are called Statutes of Limitation, and if you miss one, you will not be able to file any asbestos claims.

The exact same thing applies with asbestos trusts: 

If you wait too long to file an asbestos trust claim, you’ll lose the right to do so. Statutes of Limitation can be complicated in asbestos cases because a person typically doesn’t develop an asbestos-related illness until many years after he or she was exposed.

Statutes of Limitations are often not very straightforward in asbestos cases because there are questions about when the statute should start:

• Does “the clock” start when a person is diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, or does it start when they find out their illness could have been caused by asbestos? 

• If they worked in Texas but now live in Missouri, which statute applies? 

These are the sorts of questions that are best posed to an asbestos attorney, and we’re happy to answer them for you.

If you believe you are entitled to compensation for your asbestos-related illness, call, text or email our law firm so we can tell you how long you have to make the decision to file a trust claim or to seek asbestos compensation through an asbestos lawsuit.

It won’t cost you anything to call us, but it could cost you everything if you wait too long to file a claim.

Justinian C. Lane, Esq. – AsbestosClaims.Law

My grandfather, grandmother and father were all exposed to asbestos in their work, and all three died of respiratory-related cancers.

I found out too late about the health effects of asbestos to help them.

But my firm has helped many other people receive compensation for health problems they developed from exposure to asbestos.

Call, text or email us for a completely free consultation with no obligation. I will listen to the details of your story, and explain your options. We only work on contingency, so we only get paid if you do.

Every case is different, but the Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. has obtained large settlements for thousands of people harmed by asbestos. This compensation has helped ease our clients’ financial burdens, and offers a legacy to leave for their loved ones.

At AsbestosClaims.Law, we’ve helped thousands of people who were exposed to asbestos in their job, car or at home. Can we help you?