Mass Tort & Class Action Services

Judge Marina Corodemus spoke at length about her experiences working with Verus, particularly in her role as Trustee for the G-I Holdings Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust (“G-I”) and later in her various roles handling mass tort litigation.

She first encountered Verus while working as New Jersey’s sole mass tort judge; at the time she presided over many complex litigation cases involving asbestos, pharmaceutical, products liability and environmental tort matters.  At that time, Verus had specialized in the third-party administration of a number of 524(g) asbestos trusts. Judge Corodemus’ working relationship with Verus expanded when she was appointed to serve as a trustee for the G-I Holdings Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust. Traveling to quarterly meetings, Judge Corodemus grew to appreciate Verus’ breadth of experience and our ability to use technology, combined with our extensive experience and historical understanding of the asbestos litigation, to craft innovative solutions as issues arose. Verus also had a unique ability to use data analytics to establish accurate claim valuations and to forecast trends. At the time few companies had the ability to recognize the capacity of analytics to forecast paths to resolution but Verus established itself as a leader in the area, able to synthesize data while efficiently processing hundreds of thousands of cases.

It was a seamless transition when Verus expanded its services to focus on mass tort litigation. When Judge Corodemus was appointed as the Common Benefit Fund Special Master for In Re: Bard Implanted Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3081), she turned to Verus for assistance in developing a solution to streamline the document management and expense disbursements, confirm payments and interact with the parties. The Judge’s role expanded in anticipation of the Bard case’s ultimate settlement and she worked with us using our analytics tools to predict the settlement values of present and future claims. The judge notes that, in her role as special master, she was faced with cases that presented different issues and required unique answers; Verus had the ability to listen, evaluate the problem and develop a tailored solution.

The Judge stated that whenever an issue with a methodology came up Verus was very responsive. She notes “I don’t know what more you could ask for”.  Verus typically managed projects on a 30-day cycle and our staff listened to clients.  Judge Corodemus emphasized Verus’ flexible thinking and the collaborative manner with which we approach challenges. The company has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to handle large projects efficiently and seamlessly. She highly recommends Verus’ mass tort and settlement administration services.

“Verus brings extensive experience in managing and streamlining the settlement process. Their expertise has significantly improved our operational efficiency and contributed to more effective outcomes. With a strong emphasis on accuracy and results, Verus has proven to be a reliable and trusted partner in administering complex settlement programs.” – Trustee, Asbestos Trust

“Verus helped us simplify a highly complex process. With secure portals, real-time reporting, and consistent claimant outreach, we met tight deadlines without compromising on clarity or engagement. Their team brought both structure and reassurance to a demanding case.”
— Managing Partner, Law Firm

“Verus approached every step — from intake to communication — with the care and sensitivity survivors deserve. Their trauma-informed process was not only secure and efficient, but deeply respectful of the individuals we serve.”
— Managing Partner, Law Firm

“Partnering with Verus transformed how we handle claimant intake and manage our cases. Their tech-driven processes significantly improved our efficiency, cut manual work in half, and brought our completion rates above 90%. The added transparency and compliance were game-changers.”
— Managing Partner, Law Firm

Marc and I met to discuss his experience as trustee for two of the asbestos trusts for which Verus serves as the third-party administrator. Marc has worked with Verus for a dozen or so years, addressing the wide array of issues that regularly develop in the trusts he handles. In describing his interactions with Verus as a trustee, he noted that many of his responsibilities occur on a recurrent basis. He has come to rely on Verus for its reliability and responsiveness in preparing the reports and data that he needs to carry out the requirements outlined in his trusts’ distribution procedures and to function effectively as trustee. He noted a recent example in which, as a result of a payment percentage analysis in one of his trusts, he requested Verus to prepare an ad hoc report in order to determine to help inform his discussions with the Futures Representative and the Trust Advisory Committee. Verus’ team was able to quickly turn the report around, enabling Marc to perform the needed analysis. He emphasized that Verus has the facility and expertise to support him in his position as trustee. His partnership with us serves one of the critical functions in his overall management of the trusts.

Marc described Verus as reliable, professional and pleasant to work with. He appreciates the people with whom he has developed relationships and notes that Verus’ culture has been a key factor in making his work with the Verus team not only beneficial to his trusts, but enjoyable as well. Marc would not hesitate to recommend Verus for other services for which he thinks it would be well suited.

Marc values the relationships he has built with Verus’ team, and believes that Verus’; positive company culture has been instrumental in shaping its success. Marc’s trusts have benefitted from his interactions with both the team and the broader employee group, which further attests to the company’s cohesive and supportive environment. He confidently recommends Verus when opportunities arise for third-party administrators because he believes their expertise would be highly beneficial.

Connect with us to explore how Verus’ proven track record and committed team can enhance your project’s success.

Dave and I spoke at length about his experience with the restructuring, creation and management of settlement trusts and how he came to work with Verus.

Dave was with the Flintkote Company from 1998 through 2017, where he successfully developed and implemented the strategic plan for resolving the company’s mass tort asbestos liability through Chapter 11 524g restructuring and the creation of an asbestos claimants trust. He became aware of Verus while creating a joint venture claims processing business for which Verus would run the claims management end and do the claim analysis. He was impressed by both Dan Myer and Mark Eveland, particularly their entrepreneurial sensibilities.

In the course of his career, Dave has become aware of the regard with which law firms hold Verus. They respect us because we are pro-active, transparent, creative, accessible and unlike many competitors, non-bureaucratic. Firms note that Verus has “people you can actually talk to”.

Although the Flintkote project did not come to fruition, it instilled in Dave a regard for Verus. He stayed in touch and sought Verus’ services for his next trusteeship with the Oakfabco Trust. Dave had developed an expertise in smaller liquidating trusts and recognized that Verus would be a good fit – our pricing is competitive, which is particularly important when handling thinly-funded trusts that are highly cost-conscious. Verus’ awareness of these economic sensibilities allowed him to run these smaller trusts efficiently and our reputation for having an open-door policy provided for issues to be handled transparently and immediately with phone calls instead of lengthy emails.

Where Oakfabco was a more traditional asbestos trust, Frasier Boiler was more unusual with more stringent claims qualification thresholds and an unusual TDP. Many cClaims had been settled in advance of trust formation in mediation. Verus’ ability to think outside the box and anticipate challenges led to Dave and Verus designing the innovative solution of providing informal claims reviews to law firms before they filed their claims and running afoul of paying non-refundable $1000 per claim filing fees for non-compensable claims. Law firms felt they had been given a fair assessment even if the claim was ultimately denied. This is representative of the relationships that he and Verus have developed over a
number of years with members of the plaintiffs’ bar.

Dave’s next project is serving as Trustee for the Old Revco Trust. Because of the case’s high profile as the first cosmetic talc trust, Dave and Verus were aware of the heightened scrutiny this trust would receive. Extensive energy and resources have been spent between Dave and Verus to set up the trust in recognition of the fact that this is a new relatively new tort. with new damages, exposure and liability. They needed to be creative and accurate; after his extensive experience with Verus over the years we were his only logical choice. Given the nature and potential contentiousness of the case, there will likely be a lot of issues and they will need to continue their policy of thinking outside of the box to develop
creative solutions to novel problems.

To sum up, Dave feels that while Verus is great at managing traditional trusts, our real strengths lie in our collective intellectual horsepower, experience and abundance of common sense he sees employed for the benefit of both him as the trustees and the law firms and claimants seeking resolution of their claims.

Verus tackled a complex and voluminous medical record review project and produced work product that was integral to efforts to resolve the litigation in question. The professionals I worked with on the project at Verus were always immediately responsive and I quickly came to trust their approach. I would highly recommend them to anyone.