Timing of Requests for Consideration at February 2012 Trustees’ Meeting

Posted 11/28/2011
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

Posted 11/28/2011
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

Posted 10/05/2011
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

Posted 09/26/2011
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

Posted 09/26/2011
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.

Name Start Date End Date Rating
Air Traffic Control Center – Palmdale, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1956 L- Date Specific
Air Traffic Control Center – Palmdale, CA 1/1/1957 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Arlington High School- Riverside, CA 1/1/1973 12/31/1979 VL
Arrowsmith Co. – San Diego, CA 1/1/1959 12/31/1973 S – Date Specific
Arrowsmith Co. – San Diego, CA 1/1/1974 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad – Los Angeles, CA 5/11/1961 11/8/1970 site only valid to this date VL
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad – San Bernardino , CA 3/15/1960 10/17/1975 site only valid to this dateÿÿÿ VL
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad – Winslow, AZ 3/14/1961 1/17/1967 site only valid to this date VL
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad – Gallup, NM 10/11/1960 10/11/1962 site only valid to this date VL
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad – Barstow, CA 7/12/1960 11/18/1970 site only valid to this date VL
Atomic Test Site – Mercury, NV 1/1/1954 12/31/1955 S – Date Specific
Atomic Test Site – Mercury, NV 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Beverly Hills Hotel – Beverly Hills, CA 1/1/1964 12/31/1979 VL
Brett Hart Junior High School – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1973 12/31/1979 VL
C F Braun Co. – Alhambra, CA (Boiler Room ONLY) 1/1/1960 12/31/1979 VL
Cal Mart – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1973 12/31/1979 VL
California Portland Cement Co. – Mojave, CA 2/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
Commission Federal de Electricidad – Rosarita, BC, Mexico 7/1/1968 12/31/1979 VL
Court House – Las Vegas, NV 2/1/1959 12/31/1979 VL
Douglas Aircraft (aka McDonnell Douglas) – Huntington Beach, CA 1/1/1963 12/31/1979 L
Ducommun Metal & Supply Co. – Vernon, CA 3/11/1968 12/31/1979 VL
Farmer John (cold Storage Room Only) — Vernon, CA 1/1/1967 12/31/1979 VL
Fashion Mall – Newport Beach, CA (Boiler room ONLY) 1/1/1967 12/31/1979 VL
Fire Station 107 – Northridge, CA 1/1/1963 12/31/1979 VL
Fluor Corp. – Wilmington, CA 3/30/1970 12/31/1979 L
US Steel Power House – Fontana, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 S
Fred Antelline Co. – San Diego, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1969 S – Date Specific
Fred Antelline Co. – San Diego, CA 1/1/1970 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Fremont Hotel – Las Vegas, NV 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
Fullerton Junior College – Fullerton, CA 1/1/1966 12/31/1979 VL
Hall of Administration – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
Hilton Hotel – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
J.W. Robinson’s – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
JC Penneys (Downey Mall) – Downey, CA 1/1/1966 12/31/1969 L – Date Specific
JC Penneys (Downey Mall) – Downey, CA 1/1/1970 12/31/1979 VL
Kraft Foods – Buena Park, CA 1/1/1967 12/31/1979 VL
Long Beach Auditorium – Long Beach, CA 1/1/1960 12/31/1979 VL
Long Beach College – Long Beach, CA 1/1/1960 12/31/1979 Low during built years and then Very Low
Main Telephone Building – Bakersfield, CA 1/1/1957 12/31/1979 VL
N.A.P.P. Systems Building – San Marcos, CA 1/1/1973 12/31/1979 VL
Naval Ordnance Test Station – China Lake, CA 1/1/1952 12/31/1961 L – Date Specific
Naval Ordnance Test Station – China Lake, CA 1/1/1962 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Northridge Hospital – Northridge, CA 1/1/1960 12/31/1979 VL
Occidental College – Occidental, CA 1/1/1963 12/31/1979 VL
Pabst Brewery – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1960 12/31/1965 S – Date Specific
Pabst Brewery – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1966 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Pacific Air Regulation – San Diego, CA 1/1/1959 12/31/1969 S – Date Specific
Pacific Air Regulation – San Diego, CA 1/1/1970 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Pacific Pump Co. – Huntington Park, CA 1/1/1970 12/31/1979 VL
Pacific Telephone – Van Nuys, CA 1/1/1964 12/31/1979 VL
Plant Insulation – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1957 VH Only valid for these dates
Production Steel Company – Wilmington, CA 6/1/1972 12/31/1979 S
Pump Station – Van Nuys, CA 1/1/1966 12/31/1967 S – Date Specific
Pump Station – Van Nuys, CA 1/1/1968 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
R.C. Mahon Co./General Motors/Air Preheater Corp. – Van Nuys, CA 6/1/1967 12/31/1979 VL
Regional Medical Center – San Diego, CA 1/1/1978 12/31/1979 VL
San Diego Pipe & Supply Co. – San Diego, CA 1/1/1959 12/31/1969 S – Date Specific
San Diego Pipe & Supply Co. – San Diego, CA 1/1/1970 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Scott Co. of California, Central Utilities Bldg., University of California – La Jolla, CA 7/10/1968 12/31/1979 VL
South California Youth Center – Chino, CA 11/19/1968 12/31/1979 VL
State Plumbing & Heating – Hawthorne, CA 12/1/1967 12/31/1979 VL
Tehachapi Prison – Tehachapi, CA 1/1/1967 12/31/1967 L – Date Specific
Tehachapi Prison – Tehachapi, CA 1/1/1968 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
Temple Beth Hillel – North Hollywood, CA 1/1/1963 12/31/1979 VL
Thompson Ramo Woodridge, TRW – San Pedro, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1959 S – Date Specific
Thompson Ramo Woodridge, TRW – San Pedro, CA 1/1/1960 12/31/1979 VL – Date Specific
U.S. Marine Corps Supply Center, SSB Receiving, Bldg. #157 1/31/1968 12/31/1979 VL
Union Bank – Los Angeles, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
University Mechanical – El Cajon, CA 1/1/1956 12/31/1979 VL
Valley Nitrogen Producers – El Centro, CA 11/29/1967 12/31/1979 VL
Whittaker Company – Long Beach, CA 4/3/1968 12/31/1979 VL
Traditional Occupations List

Posted 09/26/2011
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

Posted 05/08/2011
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

Posted 04/28/2011
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

Posted 04/27/2011
The 2010 Annual Report is now available on this site for download.

Notice

Posted 04/27/2011
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

Posted 04/05/2011
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

Posted 03/25/2011
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

Posted 03/03/2011
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.

Causation Information Data
Pathological diagnosis of asbestosis, or occupational levels of asbestos bodies or asbestos fibers in lung tissue 2.0 OCA
Clinical diagnosis of asbestosis (in absence of pathological diagnosis) 1.5 OCA
For laryngeal, esophageal, kidney other cancer, the following additional adjustments shall be applied: Data
No radiographic evidence of asbestos exposure and no Increased fiber burden as a marker of asbestos exposure .25 OCA
Lifetime non-smoker 2.0 OCA
1-20 pack-years of smoking 1.2 OCA
Over 80 pack-years of smoking  .6 OCA
Diagnosis over 10 years since Injured Person quit smoking  1.2 OCA
Diagnosis over 15 years since Injured Person quit smoking 1.5 OCA
Update on Identification of Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust Exposure Sites

Posted 02/25/2011
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

Posted 02/22/2011
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.