The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2015 (old bill number- , now Section 3 of ) is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Blake Farenthold that would require asbestos trusts in the United States to file quarterly reports about the payouts they make and personal information on the victims who receive them in a publicly accessible database. The legislation would also allow defendant corporations in asbestos cases to demand information from the trusts for any reason.
Purpose
The intent of the bill, according to The Wall Street Journal, is to bring "transparency" to a system that is susceptible to abuse. However, according to The New York Times, the bill would limit or greatly slow down the ability of trusts to award compensation to victims by instituting additional requirements for filing and reporting.
Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases often appear decades after exposure to asbestos.
A Wall Street Journal investigative report discovered hundreds of alleged inconsistencies between claims with trusts and in-court cases. The opinion article also claimed many implausible claims that children were exposed to asbestos while working in industrial settings.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied asbestos trusts and concluded that the trusts operate without meaningful federal oversight. The GAO directly asked the asbestos trusts if their own audits uncovered fraud. In response, the trusts replied that they did not find any fraud among the more than $20 billion in claims paid out.
Background
1930s
In the 1930s corporations that manufactured asbestos knew that their product caused serious adverse health effects and even alarming rates of death among workers. Fearing the liability ramifications, the industry engaged in a large cover-up to hide the dangers to exposed workers. Although litigation by sick and injured victims began during this period, companies demanded confidentiality regarding settlement agreements. As a result, it took 45 years before the lethal nature of the product came to light.
1980s
In 1981, federal scientists published data showing that asbestos contributed to causing more cancer cases than any other workplace exposure. The Center for Disease Control estimates that over 3,000 Americans still die from asbestos related diseases and cancers every year. Mesothelioma victims most often die 4–18 months after receiving diagnosis. The United States has not banned asbestos and it is still widely used in many common products.
1994 law
In 1994, Congress passed legislation, amending §524 of the Bankruptcy Code, to establish special trusts to compensate past and future asbestos victims while allowing companies seeking bankruptcy protection to remain operating and economically healthy. Unlike other companies that file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, companies filing under this special section of the Bankruptcy Code need not be insolvent, but rather merely must be "named as a defendant in personal injury, wrongful death, or property-damage actions seeking recovery for damages allegedly caused by the presence of, or exposure to, asbestos or asbestos-containing products". This legislation allowed the asbestos defendant to continue to operate as a profitable company while providing for yet unknown victims. Before these bankruptcy amendments were passed "courts had to find inventive ways to include future claimants in the proceeding." "The goal of the trusts is to compensate present and future claimants, equitably and outside the court system, by managing the debtor company's assets assumed by the trust as part of the bankruptcy reorganization," while relieving the company of any future asbestos related liability.
Once a trust has been established, the company has, essentially, already conceded liability. Therefore, to make a claim against a trust, a victim need not prove liability as in a normal lawsuit, but rather must show evidence of the diagnosis of an asbestos related disease/cancer, evidence of the place of exposure, and medical documentation discussing the extent that asbestos played in the illness.
Procedural history
The FACT Act of 2015 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas (TX-27) on January 26, 2015 and assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. A hearing on the FACT Act was held on February 4, 2015 by the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law. On May 14, the bill was voted out of the Judiciary Committee, 19-9, and was sent to be voted on by the full House of Representatives.