Q.  What was the A&I Corporation?

A.  The A&I corporation was a supplier and contractor which primarily sold, installed and removed Insulation material. The company’s principal place of business was in Charleston, West Virginia.

Q.  Did A&I sell and handle asbestos containing material?

A.  Yes. The name A&I was originally Asbestos and Insulation and the company sold, installed and, in later years, removed asbestos containing insulation and similar material.

Q.  Why is it important that A&I sold and handled asbestos containing material?

A.  Exposure to asbestos has been known to contribute to lung disease and certain cancers. For a number of years before it went out of business, A&I had been sued by workers and other persons who alleged that A&I had failed to warn about the dangers of the asbestos containing products that it sold and handled.

During much of the time that A&I was in business, it had insurance that would pay compensation to persons who were injured because of the negligent actions of A&I. The insurance companies that issued the insurance to A&I have paid many of the claims against A&I where it was proved that a person contracted an asbestos related disease because of exposure to material sold or handled by A&I.

Q.  Where did A&I sell, install and remove the asbestos?

A.  A&I operated primarily in central and southern West Virginia and to a limited degree in Ohio and Kentucky, near the West Virginia border. In previous litigation, a number of jobsites have been identified where A&I was present or sold asbestos. Those jobsites are listed here.

Q.  Is the A&I Corporation still doing business?

A.  No. The company quit doing business in the 1990s and formally filed articles of dissolution with the West Virginia Secretary of State on November 5, 1999.

Q.  Is it important that A&I filed articles of dissolution?

A.  Yes. The law in effect in West Virginia at the time of the dissolution [W. Va. Code § 31-1-48] stated that any claims against A&I which were not filed by November 5, 2001 (two years after the articles of dissolution were filed) for a "right or claim existing, or liability incurred," prior to November 5, 1999, would be extinguished. In other words, this law could be interpreted to mean that any person who suffers an injury as a result of the actions of A&I, but does not manifest the injury until after November 5, 2001, cannot make a claim against A&I or its Insurance companies. This is especially important in the case of asbestos related diseases because the symptoms of asbestos disease often do not occur for as long as 20-30 years after exposure to the asbestos.

Q.  What is this lawsuit about?

A.  Lawyers who have represented workers and other persons in cases involving claims for asbestos related injuries in West Virginia recognized that it would be a harsh result if many persons were prevented from making claims against A&I and its insurance companies because the law only allowed a period of two years after A&I filed its articles of dissolution to make a claim, particularly since some persons wouldn’t even learn that they had been injured until after the two years had passed.

In an effort to avoid this problem, the lawyers brought a class action in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia on behalf of Mr. Kenneth Reynolds [Reynolds v. A&I Company, etc.] and all others similarly situated to collect or preserve the insurance to provide compensation to future claimants who have not made a claim against A&I and who were not or have not been diagnosed with an asbestos disease until after November 5, 1999.

Q.  What is a class action?

A.  A class action is a lawsuit brought by a representative plaintiff (the person who brings a lawsuit) on behalf of himself/herself and other persons who are similarly situated. In this case, the Class, or those who are similarly situated are defined as:

“All persons who have been exposed to asbestos for which A & I Corporation (“A&I”) is alleged to be liable, except those who either (I) have a pending unsettled lawsuit filed on or before November 5, 2001, or (ii) settled, released or had adjudicated a claim for mesothelioma against A&I or its insurers in connection with such exposure.”

In other words, the unnamed persons on whose behalf this case has been brought are those people who have been exposed to asbestos sold or handled by A&I who have either not yet been diagnosed with an asbestos disease or who have been diagnosed with an asbestos disease, but did not bring a lawsuit against A&I before November 5, 2001 or have not previously resolved a claim for an asbestos disease against A&I or its insurance companies.

Q.  What has happened in the lawsuit?

A.  Earlier this year, the lawyer who represents the Class reached a settlement with two of the more important insurance companies, Travelers and AIG. The insurance companies have agreed to pay a total of $13,135,000 (Thirteen million, one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars) over the next five years to provide compensation to persons in the Class who have been diagnosed with an asbestos disease or may be diagnosed with an asbestos disease in the future.

The settlement agreement provides that the Court will establish a Trust to hold the funds, invest the money, process claims and pay valid claims. In addition, the attorneys for the Class have proposed guidelines for processing and approving claims and proposed values for the various disease processes.

The Court must approve the settlement, the Class, the Trust and a number of other aspects of the settlement. The Honorable Judge Louis H. Bloom, the presiding Judge has set a hearing for June 17, 2005, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 5 of the Kanawha Judicial Building, 111 Court Street, Charleston, West Virginia, to decide whether to approve the settlement. Any interested person may appear and be heard at the hearing.

Q.  Who will qualify for compensation?

A.  Under the proposed Trust Distribution Procedures [The TDP], claimants will have to provide proof of (1) Exposure to asbestos sold or handled by A&I for a specified time and (2) Medical evidence of an asbestos disease which qualifies for payment. The specific requirements are set out in Sections 5.4, 5.5 and 5.10 of the TDP, which is available here. The TDP must be approved by the Court along with other parts of the settlement. If you have an opinion about the terms of the TDP, you should communicate it to the Court.