The relationship between asbestos and private equity companies is complicated, to say the least. Private equity itself is complicated, mostly because these firms sometimes monetize things that don\u2019t exist. The late, great David Bowie<\/a>, who was known for his unconventional music and stage shows, was unconventional with his wallet as well. In 1997, Bowie was the first rockstar to trade possible money later (song royalties) for real money now (a bond). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The move worked out well for Bowie, who netted $55 million. The same strategy didn\u2019t work out so well in another private equity situation. In the early 2000s, private equity firms started buying up mortgaged-backed securities. When, for various reasons, homeowners were unable to pay their debts, the walls came a-tumblin\u2019 down, causing the Great Recession<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Private equity is often a game of make-believe, as in \u201clet\u2019s make-believe that nothing is worth something.\u201d An asbestos industry\/private equity industry partnership<\/a> often leads to a game of make-believe. Asbestos companies make-believe that asbestos doesn\u2019t cause cancer, and private companies make-believe that financially healthy entities must file bankruptcy. More on that below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t mean to trash financial make-believe. Sometimes, it works, and not just for Bowie. The dollar in your pocket is just a piece of paper, but it has value because we assign value to it. But, for the most part, something is more valuable than nothing. That\u2019s primarily why an asbestos exposure lawyer<\/a> settles most of these cases out of court. A settlement is a sure thing. A court verdict might be a better thing, or it might go the other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand the asbestos coverup, we must get in the way-back machine and travel back to 1900. Society was much different then. Most people had crude telephones. But very few people, except rich city dwellers, had indoor plumbing or electricity. Very few people owned automobiles, and forget about 3-D printers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1900, or 1899 to be exact, was also the first time researchers connected the dots between asbestos and lung disease. Some twenty-five years later, an asbestos exposure lawyer obtained compensation for an asbestosis victim<\/a> in court. At that moment, asbestos industry leaders reached a crossroads. They could stop selling a dangerous product or keep making money selling it. Guess which path they took.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To keep selling the product, they needed a plan. That plan started with the Saranac Tuberculosis Sanitarium<\/a> in upstate New York. TB was the COVID-19 of the time. Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, like most other doctors at the time, mistakenly believed that fresh air cured TB. His theory was wrong, but his work was well-respected and the public held him in high esteem. When asbestos industry leaders approached Dr. Trudeau with their plan, he was happy to oblige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The industry\u2019s grand scheme, which big tobacco and other industries have successfully copied, rested on four basic pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n That fourth bullet is where Dr. Trudeau came in. Dr. Trudeau was so ill with TB he couldn’t handle the task. But he thought he had the right man for the job, Dr. Anthony Lanza<\/a>. Dr. Lanza was a noted asbestos health skeptic who later worked for MetLife, a workers\u2019 compensation insurance provider. He launched a comprehensive study of the health effects of asbestos, assisted by Dr. Leroy Upson Gardner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since asbestos industry leaders were paying for the study, they included a failsafe. They reserved the right to edit the study\u2019s content and even withhold publication if they saw fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subsequent events, such as a 1949 strike<\/a> at the Thetford Asbestos Mine in Quebec, prompted them to trigger the failsafe. Asbestos industry leaders feared that lawmakers would start asking questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Dr. Lanza\u2019s report came out, it contained no mention of the asbestos-cancer link, because industry people (most likely lawyers) had edited it. The full, unedited report was finally published in 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that the asbestos coverup has officially gone kaput, an asbestos exposure lawyer has several legal options. We mentioned two of these options, civil actions and workers\u2019 compensation claims, above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Normally, civil actions claim that the asbestos provider in question failed to warn customers about known side-effects. Given the facts outlined above, there\u2019s plenty of evidence to prove negligence. As a result, most asbestos exposure civil settlements are six- or seven-figure settlements, if the victim perseveres to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perseverance is an issue in civil cases. The claims process is long and complex, and industry lawyers know how to make it even longer and more complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, workers\u2019 compensation, a somewhat more streamlined process, may be a better option, even though less compensation is available in these matters. Usually, these claimants receive money for lost wages and medical bills, but they don\u2019t receive compensation for emotional distress or other noneconomic losses. Punitive damages<\/a> are also unavailable in most workers\u2019 compensation<\/a> claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What will your legal options be tomorrow? That\u2019s hard to say, because the asbestos industry has a new plan. A 1989 Texas law, the divisive merger, enables the Texas Two-Step bankruptcy. So, the new plan ironically began at about the same time the old plan fell apart for good (1995).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Basically, a company transfers its troubled assets into a shell company. Then, the shell company files bankruptcy. Bankrupt companies usually don\u2019t pay legal compensation. Perhaps more importantly for the asbestos industry, bankruptcy\u2019s Automatic Stay immediately stops all lawsuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2017, Koch Industries-owned Georgia-Pacific spun off its liabilities from paper and building products that contained asbestos into a new entity (Bestwall) through a Texas divisive merger. Bestwall declared bankruptcy in North Carolina three months later. The Tarheel State is known throughout the land, at least among lawyers, for its liberal bankruptcy laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Upsides and Downsides of Private Equity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Asbestos, Cancer, Coverups, and Conspiracies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Truth About Asbestos Gets Revealed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Truth About Asbestos Gets Revealed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Your Legal Options Today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Litigation Can Take Longer Than Other Compensation Options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Texas Two-Step Bankruptcy and the New Asbestos Coverup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n