Asbestos Defendants
Companies named as asbestos defendants face claims that can span decades: for exposure that began long ago, for diseases diagnosed years later, and for suits filed in many jurisdictions at once. The insurance that responds is often a patchwork of primary, umbrella, and excess policies purchased over many years, some from insurers that no longer exist or that have passed their liabilities to run-off vehicles.
Marc Mayerson has pursued insurance recovery for policyholders facing asbestos liabilities, as well as silica and other toxic-tort claims that produce injury over time. The recurring questions are familiar, but the answers turn on policy language and on the law of the state that governs the policies.
Under an occurrence-based general-liability policy, the event that must take place during the policy period is injury. Our approach starts there. The question is not which of several competing "trigger theories" a court should adopt, but whether injury occurred during the policy period under scrutiny. Framed that way, exposure, the continued presence of fibers in the body, and the onset of disease can each implicate the policies in force at the time. Marc has been involved in asbestos trigger and allocation liability disputes and resolved successfully for clients through litigation and negotiation with insurers.
Products and non-products claims. Whether asbestos claims fall within the products-completed operations hazard, with its aggregate limits, or arise from operations not subject to an aggregate can determine how much insurance is available. Marc has been involved in litigation on behalf of such asbestos defendants and negotiations with carriers.
Historical and insolvent coverage. Older programs often include London market and other insurers whose obligations have been reorganized or reinsured. Marc has experience in achieving final resolution of run-off of Lloyd's liabilities, including Lioncover and Equitas, and solvent and insolvent London companies. For the American Bar Association, he chaired and spoke at national meetings about the impact of the reorganization of Lloyd’s syndicate liabilities.
The Mayerson Firm PLLC works alongside the defense lawyers handling the underlying asbestos docket. We coordinate the description of claims and settlements so that the defense is protected and insurance recovery is preserved. We negotiate with insurers and, when necessary, litigate or arbitrate coverage disputes.
Related reading: Trigger and Allocation for Asbestos, Other Bodily Injury, and Property Damage: Recent Cases and the Policyholders' Winning Argument