Owens Corning and its committee of asbestos claimants are resisting a request from creditors to the bankruptcy court to compel the company to produce documents related to its asbestos claims settlemen…
Owens Corning and its committee of asbestos claimants are resisting a request from creditors to the bankruptcy court to compel the company to produce documents related to its asbestos claims settlements. The creditor committee asked the building products company to produce materials related to the analysis behind its current financial reserve estimates for asbestos litigation costs and/or asbestos-related liability, as well as its historical reserve analysis from 1997 through 2000. Owens Corning said in a court filing 9 April 2004 that the current reserve analyses might eventually be discoverable, but not yet. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald indicated during a hearing on 9 February 2004 that the company will not be forced to share its documents until all parties are compelled to do so. The creditor committee, which has just filed a request to retain a new expert, is not ready to share its documents, and Owens Corning should not be forced to do so now either, the filing said. The committee“s request for estimation materials is also premature, Owens Corning said, because it is not yet entirely clear whether the bankruptcy court has jurisdiction to make rulings related to asbestos-estimation proceedings. After the resolution of any jurisdictional matters, and as part of the confirmation hearing schedule, the company said it would then be appropriate to exchange testifying experts“ reports. Meanwhile, Owens Corning said it is prepared to continue in the cooperative discovery process suggested by the court. In the filing, Owens Corning added that it has given the creditor committee all the data required for the committee to carry out its own analysis of current and future asbestos liabilities. In the company“s view, the court should not make amends for the committee“s failure to review the data which has been at its disposal for over 20 months by forcing Owens Corning to provide the committee with its own analysis of the data. Owens Corning also said the historical reserve estimates requested by the committee are irrelevant to the bankruptcy estimation process. The information is “seriously outdated” and represents the low-end estimate of the company“s probable asbestos liabilities, the filing said. The asbestos claimants committee and the legal representative for future claimants joined in the company“s objection to the committee“s information request. A hearing is scheduled for 26 April 2004 before Judge Fitzgerald in Wilmington, Delaware on the creditor committee“s request, and on similar requests made by certain of the company“s insurers under Bankruptcy Rule 2004. This rule gives the court the power to order company officials to give testimony or force the production of documents outlining operations, finances or other areas vital to the administration of a bankruptcy case. Toledo, Ohio-based Owens Corning, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2000 to address multibillion-dollar asbestos liabilities. The company, which sells insulation, roofing and various fiberglass products, plans to pay asbestos personal injury claims through a trust that it would fund with the majority of its stock following reorganization.