Cooley Godward Kronish’s Mass Tort, Toxic Tort & Asbestos Bankruptcy group represents clients facing mass tort liabilities both in and out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Whether or not a client is facing solvency issues, we work to develop and implement effective litigation strategies, including the defense of major class action lawsuits or mass tort litigation seeking recovery for both property damage and personal injury. We are also experts at helping clients facing bankruptcy assess and preserve value for their shareholders after reorganization. In addition to assisting companies facing substantial liability for asbestos exposures under a variety of scenarios, we have represented businesses contending with toxic tort and mass tort claims in federal and state courts arising from alleged exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), perchlorate and chromium.
We represent, for example, USG Corporation and its related entities in Chapter 11-related personal injury asbestos claims before federal district and bankruptcy courts. In this action, we persuaded the court to consider USG's defenses regarding present and future asbestos-related claims as part of the claim estimation proceedings, obtained a court order allowing discovery of a sample of claimants and persuaded the court to hear evidence regarding the deficiencies in the asbestos litigation system. The strategic approach we employed in this case will enable USG to emerge from bankruptcy without asbestos liability, with unsecured creditors paid in full and with stockholders retaining equity.
We have also represented Raytheon Company and Hughes Aviation in two Southern California class actions relating to alleged class member exposures to TCE and other volatile organic compounds. In both cases, we successfully resolved all claims in favor of our clients on summary judgment motions and in related appeals.
Our experience in adversarial proceedings includes not only trials before judges and juries, but also participation in many alternative-dispute resolution forms. We have provided clients with successful resolutions, ranging from sophisticated “bet-the-company” strategies to more tactical litigation endeavors. We appreciate, however, that trial is not always the best answer. To this end, we offer a broad range of pre-litigation counseling, so that our clients can avoid litigation when possible. We work with our clients to achieve the best outcome under the circumstances, in the most prompt and cost-efficient manner.
Another added dimension that we bring to any Mass Tort, Toxic Tort & Asbestos Bankruptcy deal is immediate access to expertise in other disciplines throughout the Firm, including our Creditor’s Rights & Bankruptcy and Environmental practices. This process works especially well at Cooley, because our practice groups have a long tradition of working together to meet client needs—however complex—efficiently and completely.
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