Some $30 billion in trust funds will start being distributed to asbestos victims over the next 18 months--a staggering windfall that could be tempting in the wrong hands.

Daniel Fisher, 10.17.06, 12:00 PM ET

Owens-Illinois has asked an Ohio court overseeing thousands of asbestos lawsuits to require plaintiffs to disclose how much they've gotten from trusts established by bankrupt asbestos manufacturers. The goal is to prevent double-dipping by claimants and their attorneys.

Some $30 billion in trust funds will start being distributed to asbestos victims over the next 18 months--a staggering windfall that could be tempting in the wrong hands. So Owens-Illinois (nyse: OI - news - people ), which quit making asbestos insulation in 1958 but still faces thousands of lawsuits, has asked the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Cleveland to halt trials against solvent companies, including Owens-Illinois, until plaintiffs have resolved their claims against the trusts.

If the court doesn't do that, the company warns that lawyers could "game the system" by hiding or delaying their filings with bankruptcy trusts so courts won't offset any judgments by the amount they recovered elsewhere. According to a 2002 Rand Institute study, the typical asbestos claimant sues 60 to 70 defendants, including both solvent and bankrupt companies...(Read More)

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