AboutMesothelioma.Net

A Virginia Senate committee has rejected a piece of legislation that would have helped shield a Fortune 500 company from asbestos lawsuits, handing a defeat to a group that has been pushing similar legislation across the country.

This week, Virginia senators voted 13-2 to defeat the bill that would limit asbestos-related liability for Philadelphia-based Crown Cork & Seal, which employs 300 workers at two plants in Virginia. Company leaders had lobbied aggressively for the legislation and threatened to close down the plants if it didn’t pass.

Crown Cork & Seal, a beverage packaging company that invented the bottle cap, has faced hundreds of lawsuits for asbestos-related illness related to Mundet, a family-owned business Crown Cork purchased in 1963 for $7 million. Mundet had been involved in asbestos insulation for years, and Crown Cork assumed the liability as a successor company.

About 3,000 Americans a year die of asbestos-related respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs. Millions more are still exposed to asbestos in building materials. Inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers can lead to cancer decades later.

Since the purchase of Mundet, Crown Cork has since been named in more than 300,000 asbestos claims and paid $600 million in expenses, according to the Washington Post. Since 2007, Crown Cork has spent more than $100,000 on lobbyists to get the bill passed and donated more than $100,000 to 46 Virginia lawyers or their political action committees.

The special bill would have limited the cumulative asbestos-related liabilities of successor companies such as Crown Cork to the fair market value of the gross assets of the company being purchased at the time of the merger or consolidation. It applied to company purchases made before 1972.

The legislation, championed by House Speaker William J. Howell, had narrowly passed the House in February. The American Legislative Exchange Council, which promotes limited government and free markets, has been pushing the bill in state legislatures across the nation since 2006.

Owens Illinois, a glass container manufacturer, opposed the bill, arguing that it would pay more in asbestos claims if Crown Cork was no longer held liable. Trial lawyers, manufacturers and some unions also opposed the bill.

© AboutMesothelioma.Net. All Rights Reserved. Reprinting or republication of this article or any portion of its content is permitted but must include the AboutMesothelioma.Net link.