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On this site you will find information related to claims and claim submission, documents available for download, and pertinent notifications.
Please click this link to go directly to the Trust Documents page

Notices:

Annual Report

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust's Second Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Sheri Bluebond, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Los Angeles Division, located at 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, California 90012 in Courtroom 1475.

Actions by Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust

In light of a recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Thorpe Bankruptcy, which may affect the Plan of Reorganization, the Trust has reported to the Bankruptcy Court and Petitioned for Instructions regarding continuation of Trust operations. The Bankruptcy Court has issued an Order that provides for continued operation of the Trust, including claim submission and claim processing, but that imposes a limitation of $5 million in further aggregate claim payments. As a result, commencing immediately, and until further notice, the Trust will pay claims in installments, as they are liquidated. The Trust will pay half at the time offers are accepted and conforming releases are received. The remainder will be paid when and if further funds are available and as circumstances permit. (See TDP Section. 7.1) The Trust is implementing this program to make at least a partial payment to as many claimants as possible while conserving Trust resources consistent with the Bankruptcy Court’s recent Order. It is possible that the $5 million amount may be increased by the Bankruptcy Court based on an appropriate showing by the Trust. If the Trust exhausts the $5 million limit and the Bankruptcy Court declines to increase the amount allowed to be distributed, or if the Bankruptcy Court decides to suspend Trust operations, the Trust may be required to suspend claim payments altogether pending resolution of all issues being examined on appeal and, perhaps, on remand to the Bankruptcy Court. Copies of the Ninth Circuit decision, the Order limiting payment of Trust claims and of Thorpe’s petition for rehearing of the decision of the Ninth Circuit are posted with this notice. There will be no extension of the tolling of the statute of limitations as a result of these developments. The Trust will post further notices at this site reporting any changes that affect this installment payment regime.

• Ninth Circuit decision
• Order limiting payment of Trust claims
• Thorpe's petition for rehearing

Timing of Requests for Consideration at February 2012 Trustees' Meeting

Any requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during the February 2012 Trustees' meeting must be received by the Trust on or before Friday, January 6, 2012.

Comments to the Trust

The Trust welcomes comments from Trust claimants, beneficiaries and law firms that file claims with the Trust. The Trustees invariably will seek the advice of the Trust Advisory Committee and Futures Representative with regard to any comments seeking to modify Trust policies or set priorities on Trust agendas or finances. The Trust recommends that claimants or their attorneys make an effort to discuss those issues either with the Trust Advisory Committee or the Futures Representative, or both, as appropriate, before raising these issues with the Trustees or the Trust staff.

Further Extension of Statute of Limitations Tolling Period

On September 16, 2011, the Trustees, with the consent of the Futures Representative and Trust Advisory Committee, amended Section 5.3(a)(2) of the Trust Distribution Procedures to further extend the post bankruptcy time period when the statute of limitations for all claims had been tolled. All claims not barred by the applicable statute of limitations or repose at the Petition Date (October 15, 2007) shall be tolled as of the Petition Date to and including April 20, 2012. The Third Amendment to and Complete Restatement of Thorpe Insulation Company Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust Distribution Procedures incorporating this amendment has been posted on the Trust's Web site www.TISTrust.com.

Ships Repaired List

On September 15, 2011, the Trustees, with the consent of the Futures Representative and the Trust Advisory Committee (Trust Fiduciaries), approved a Thorpe Insulation Ships Repaired List. You may also find the approved list on the Trust Web site.

Modification to Land Site List

Modifications to the Thorpe Insulation Land Site List were approved at the September 15, 2011 Trustees’ meeting. The modifications are listed below and the new list has been posted on the Trust Web site. Please review the list, which includes a modification column for reference purposes.

Traditional Occupations List

On September 15, 2011, the Trustees approved a Thorpe Insulation Traditional Occupations List. The claimant may still be required to establish exposure to Thorpe's asbestos-containing products and the Trust may require additional information concerning the claimed exposure.

New Documents on Site

The Second Amendment to and Complete Restatement of the TI Case Valuation Matrix and the Fifth Amendment to and Complete Restatement of the Thorpe Insulation Company Asbestos Settlement Trust Agreement have been posted to the Trust Documents section.

New Thorpe Site List

On April 21, 2011 the Trustees, with the consent of the Futures Representative and the Trust Advisory Committee (Trust Fiduciaries), approved a Thorpe Insulation Site List to assist claimants in meeting their burden of establishing or characterizing exposure to Thorpe Products under the terms of the Case Valuation Matrix. (Matrix Section VII (b)) The list has been posted on the Trust Web site www.TIStrust.com. The claimant continues to be responsible to present information describing the circumstances of adequate exposure at a site identified on the list and the Trust will continue to consider all appropriate evidence of exposure. (Matrix VII (a)). The Trustees expect that the site list will continue to evolve as more information becomes available in the course of processing and liquidating claims. ("The Trust with consent of the TAC and Futures Representative may modify the list in light of additional evidence or experience with claims processing." Matrix VII (b)) And notwithstanding the rating assigned a site on the list claimants may continue to "... submit additional evidence to ... support of a higher exposure categorization in a particular case." (Id.) Claimants electing to proceed directly against RTI in the tort system (TDP section 5.11) may not rely on the fact that a site has been listed on the Site List to prove exposure in the tort system unless evidence introduced by counsel selected by a carrier defending RTI makes it appropriate to do so. (The contours of this very limited exception will be described in amendments to the TDP yet to be published.) The Site List can also be found on the Claims Packet Page.

2010 Annual Report

The 2010 Annual Report is now available on this site for download.

Notice

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust's First Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Sheri Bluebond, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Los Angeles Division, located at 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, California 90012 in Courtroom 1475.

Declarations

Pursuant to Section I(d) of the Matrix, the Trust may require additional information to assure that such evidence provided to the Trust is reliable. Therefore, any claim that is partially supported by a declaration to verify claimant’s presence at a site, asbestos exposure, and/or dates of exposure, or any other facts relevant to the claim must meet these requirements:

• The declaration must be written by a person who is competent to testify to the information stated in the declaration and the person must have direct knowledge of the factual information relevant to the claim.
• The declaration must provide sufficient background information to explain how the declarant acquired the direct knowledge of factual matters relevant to this claim, to allow the Trust to determine the credibility of the declarant.
• The declarant’s complete home address is to be part of the declaration.
• The declaration must be in the declarant’s own words and not boilerplate wording.
• The declaration must be accompanied by any documents (i.e. military records, social security records, etc) that the declarant relied upon in drafting his or her declaration.  If no documents were relied upon in drafting the declaration, then the claimant must make a statement that he or she did not rely on any documents for the declaration. If the information was given to the person by someone other than the Injured Person, then the declaration must state who, when, and in what form the information was given.
• The declaration must be specific to the claim filed.
• The declaration must be signed under the penalty of perjury.
• The Trust may interview anyone who signs a declaration in support of a claim submitted to the Trust pursuant to Section I(d) of the Matrix.

Disclaimer: Nature and Source Documents

The Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust (Trust) invited all interested law firms to submit documents that the firms believed were relevant to contract work and/or products distributed by Thorpe Insulation Company (TIC). Some firms responded and provided documents which are posted on the Trust Web site. The Trust makes no representation at this time as to the significance, relevance, meaning, validity, and/or completeness of any of the posted documents. As firms provide further documents (which are not claim specific), those materials will be posted and/or access provided to those who wish to review the materials. Further, the Trust obtained some deposition transcripts. A list of those transcripts is posted with the name and contact information of the court reporter. The Trust makes no representation at this time as to the significance, relevance, meaning, validity, and/ or completeness of any of the transcripts listed.In addition, the Trust received documents attached as exhibits to deposition transcripts. Some of the exhibits were medical records, social security records, military records, other personal information, and answers to interrogatories, none of which will be posted. Other exhibits are posted referencing the transcript to which the exhibit was attached. The Trust makes no representation at this time as to the significance, relevance, meaning, validity, and/or completeness of any of the posted exhibits. The exhibits are posted as they were received by the Trust and may be missing cover sheets, certain pages, and other materials that were or may have been included with the original document.

If in the future TIC related documents are provided to the Trust, notice of those documents will also be posted on the Web site, and access will be provided to those who wish to review those documents. Any and all expenses required to review such documents or any other TIC materials the Trust has in its possession will be borne by the requesting party.

To view and download these documents, please visit the Nature and Source Documents Library

Resolution

RESOLVED that the Trustees, in agreement with the TAC and Futures Representative, do hereby amend the Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust Case Valuation Matrix Section IV (vii) as follows:

vii. Medical Causation. The following adjustments apply to Injured Persons who have different smoking histories and/or medical findings than those described for the base Other Cancer case. In no event can any of the adjustments listed below be combined for an overall causation adjustment in excess of 3.0 OCA.

     
Update on Identification of Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust Exposure Sites

Trust Distribution Procedures Section 6.2 and the Case Valuation Matrix Section I.(d.) and Section VII, require that claims submitted to the Trust have appropriate supporting documents to prove exposure to Thorpe Insulation products or work performed. The Trust may require the submission of additional supporting documentation for any claim that has been submitted to the Trust.

While the Trust continues its work (see the copy of the Trust's notice of November 30, 2010 reproduced below) identifying sites, dates, and ratings where Thorpe Insulation was present and where asbestos exposure would have occurred, it will make available the following information (in the next few weeks) on its Web site:

• a list of the depositions the Trust has been reviewing (including the name of the court reporter, (when available), as well as the name of the deponent, date (s) of the deposition, and matter in which the deposition was given) to any requesting firm; and
• a link on its Web site (www.TIStrust.com) to other materials (e.g., receipts, work orders, etc.) the Trust has in its possession and is utilizing in the course of this investigation.
  The Trust will also maintain hard copies of all of these documents for public viewing at its offices. Due to copyright issues, the Trust cannot publish deposition transcripts on the Trust Web site. Please contact the Trust if you wish to set up a time to review the documents.

Notice Regarding Court Authorized Option for Claimants

The Trust is in the process of considering claims handling procedures to be applied to Trust Claims covered by insurance Policies Issued by Non-Settling Insurers pursuant to TDP Section 5.11, and the Plan of Reorganization Section 5.1.6 and Exhibit C thereto, which, among other things and consistent with the TDP, permit tort system prosecution of claims covered by these policies.

Current Status of Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust Exposure Sites

The Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust does not have a published site list at this time. The Trust continues to review information that has been submitted to the Trust with respect to locations where Thorpe Insulation Company’s (Thorpe Insulation) asbestos operations were conducted. Some of this information has been submitted as supporting documentation specific to a particular claimant, when a claim is filed.

The Trust has also obtained broad historical information from other sources. The Trust has been working, and will continue to work, to identify and verify the historical information regarding exposure sites and relevant dates that would have broader application than just a single claimant. Once the Trust is satisfied that it has sufficiently verified historical information about the location and dates of Thorpe Insulation’s asbestos operations, the Trust will consider whether to publish a site list. If any person wishes to submit additional evidence to establish Thorpe Insulation’s presence at a site, or in support of a higher exposure, please include a recommended rating for the site and dates when Thorpe Insulation was present at the site. The Trust may use this information to determine exposure when a claim is submitted for processing.

In the meantime, as required by the court approved Trust Distribution Procedures Section 6.2 and the Case Valuation Matrix Section I.(d.) and Section VII, claims submitted to the Trust should have appropriate supporting documents to prove exposure to Thorpe Insulation products or work performed. The Trust may require the submission of additional supporting documentation for any claim that has been submitted to the Trust.

Hold Claims Policy

The Trust can deem a claim withdrawn after the claim has been placed on hold and remains in hold status for over six (6) months. Upon written request and for good cause, the Trust may extend this period for an additional six (6) months. After the extended period, the Trust will deem the claim withdrawn.

If your firm has claims on hold, you have six (6) months to resubmit the claim with a complete claim packet (claim form and supporting documents), request in writing an additional six month period for good cause, or withdraw the claim. The claim may be withdrawn and then resubmitted with an additional $250 filing fee. If none of these options are chosen, the Trust will deem the claim withdrawn and notify your firm.

According to the Trust Distribution Procedures, the existing statute of limitations for the claim will not be affected by the withdrawal, only its place in the FIFO queue. "A claimant may withdraw a Trust Claim at any time upon written notice to the Trust and file another claim subsequently without affecting the status of the claim for statute of limitations purposes, but any such claim filed after withdrawal shall be given a place in the FIFO Processing Queue based the date of such subsequent filing." TDP Section 6.3

Consumption Guidelines for Wrongful Death Claims

The Trust documents allow claims (except Grade II Non- Malignant) to receive the benefit of up to $200,000 (base case) in economic loss without additional documents. If a wrongful death claim requests economic loss in excess of the $200,000, the report must take into consideration the lack of consumption by the deceased. In determining whether a deduction for consumption is appropriate, any claim which qualifies as a "living" claim under the Claims Valuation Matrix shall not be subject to a consumption deduction. In cases claiming additional economic loss, it is likely the Trust will request additional back-up documents supporting the conclusions set forth in the report.