Jan 14 2003
The US Supreme court has rejected an appeal from Daimler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors to have their pending asbestos claims to be heard in the federal bankruptcy court as opposed to individual state courts.
The purpose of transferring the cases to the federal bankruptcy court would be to avoid state juries which they believe would be more sympathetic to personal injury lawsuits. Furthermore, the transfer would allow them to consolidate all the claims into a one court.
Claimants in these cases believe that asbestos in brake linings have made them ill. Actions arising from such claims are drowning the courts, with some law suits naming hundreds of defendants, including mechanics and factory workers who worked in contact with the asbestos fibre containing brake components.
As a consequence of the law suits being presented to the courts, auto parts supplier Federal Mogul have already filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, along with some 60 other companies, also affected by the increasing number of asbestos related claims.
For more information on brake components and the materials used in them, click here.