Overview
Bates White provides analysis and litigation support to companies, insurers, creditors, and other parties involved in, or contemplating, bankruptcy or other reorganizations that include environmental and product-related liabilities. We apply our scientific approach to quantify exposure and determine the size of the potential liability. Our firm has extensive experience analyzing trust distribution plans and quantifying the impact of differing payment provisions on the value of environmental and varied product liability claims.
Selected Work
- Serving as asbestos liability valuation expert on behalf of Bestwall in In re Bestwall LLC bankruptcy proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for Western District of North Carolina to establish a trust to resolve current and future asbestos claims.
- Advised and participated in settlement mediations on behalf of, a group of automobile manufacturers regarding the scope of potential future personal injury and wrongful death claims from defective airbags in the Takata bankruptcy proceedings.
- Provided expert testimony regarding the sufficiency of the proposed aggregate product liability claim settlement on behalf of the settling insurers in In re Blitz USA Inc.
- Served as an asbestos liability valuation expert on behalf of Specialty Products Holding Corp./Bondex International in its bankruptcy proceedings.
- On behalf of Garlock Sealing Technologies and Coltec, Garlock's direct parent company, provided an estimate of Garlock's legal liability for mesothelioma asbestos claims that was ultimately adopted by the Court.
- Testified in the bankruptcy confirmation of Babcock & Wilcox on behalf of the Insurers Joint Defense Group to address asbestos liability.
- Estimated potential silica-related personal injury liability to advise a major friction products manufacturer undergoing Chapter 11 reorganization.
- Retained as testifying expert on behalf of the insurance committee in the bankruptcy proceedings of a major asbestos products manufacturer.
- Advised creditors′ committee of a major bankrupt manufacturer on potential asbestos liability.
- Retained as testifying expert by insurer in the asbestos-related bankruptcy of a major refractory manufacturer.
- Estimated potential liability resulting from federalization of asbestos-related personal injury claims for a major construction products manufacturer.
- Retained as testifying expert by outside counsel of a major insurer to address the asbestos liability of MacArthur Company and Western MacArthur Company. Estimated asbestos liability in the context of bankruptcy proceedings.