CHARLOTTE - Lawyers who for five years have resisted efforts of Georgia Pacific entity Bestwall to expose crooked asbestos suits asked Bankruptcy Judge Laura Beyer for three more years to prove they caused no harm.
On Sept. 26, they moved to set a discovery deadline for the later of Nov. 1, 2027 or 18 months after resolution of current and coming disputes.
Their counsel Glenn Thompson of Charlotte claimed plaintiff firms need time to compile and review records of 4,107 asbestos suits against Georgia Pacific.
Thompson claimed an average case takes 50 hours and the full review would take 205,350 hours.
He figured it as 50 lawyers billing 2,000 hours a year for more than two years.
He counted it to the credit of his clients that Bestwall found “only 221” cases where plaintiffs or counsel didn’t disclose exposures they alleged in bankruptcy trusts.
On the same date, Bestwall moved to set the deadline next June.
Bestwall counsel Garland Cassada of Charlotte wrote, “There is no outstanding discovery to the debtor and no pending discovery motion.”
Cassada focused on the impact of missing information in 221 cases.
He claimed Bestwall expects to present 79 of the cases on an individual basis when Beyer holds trial to estimate Bestwall’s asbestos liabilities.
He claimed Bestwall expects to present the other 142 cases by an aggregate summary.
He claimed a 2027 discovery deadline would put trial in late 2028 or 2029.
Georgia Pacific split itself in 2017, creating New GP to continue operations and Bestwall to manage asbestos liabilities.
Bestwall petitioned to reorganize in bankruptcy court and Beyer appointed a committee to represent the interest of claimants.
Bestwall moved for estimation in 2019, claiming fraud inflated its settlements.
The claimant committee opposed estimation and argued that Beyer should base Bestwall’s liabilities on Georgia Pacific’s settlements.
Bestwall moved to require assessment questionnaires from asbestos plaintiffs and Beyer approved it over the committee’s objections.
She prohibited any outside litigation but Maine Raichle firm of St. Louis challenged her order at U.S. district court in Benton.
District Judge Staci Yandle dismissed the challenge and Beyer ordered Maune Raichle to pay the Jones Day firm more than $400,000 for the cost of its defense in Illinois.
She stayed enforcement pending appeal.
Bestwall also served a subpoena on Delaware Claims Processing Facility which manages most of the trusts.
A district judge in Delaware quashed the subpoenas and Fourth Circuit appellate judges in Richmond reversed the decision in December 2022.
Thompson’s motion for three years claimed Bestwall’s document production was deficient and significant issues must be resolved before claimants can proceed to depositions.
He claimed he anticipated filing discovery motions soon.
He claimed Bestwall withheld 278,050 documents as privileged.
“If the debtor wants to relitigate its settlements the claimant representatives are entitled to review all information,” Thompson wrote.
He claimed analysis requires review of every statement, objection and response a claimant made and all discovery, testimony, correspondence, laws, orders, or agreements.
“Debtor’s analysis ignores the nature of the claim, the facts known or knowable to the parties, and the laws, agreements, or orders that governed the underlying litigation,” he wrote.
He claimed evaluation of settlement values and whether mesothelioma victims suppressed evidence requires examination of counsel representing Old GP.
Cassada responded that Bestwall provided all the discovery the claimant representatives could reasonably require.
“Debtor has only a vague sense of what the claimant representatives believe they need three more years to accomplish,” Cassada wrote.
He claimed answers to interrogatories that Bestwall finished serving in May explained exactly what information was not disclosed for the 221 cases.
He claimed the 79 individual cases showed how missing information impacted settlements.
“This provides a clear road map of the debtor’s arguments and proof,” he wrote.
He stated claimant representatives could test whether evidence was or was not disclosed and whether undisclosed evidence mattered.
He stated they’d have an opportunity to depose Bestwall’s decision makers and ask whether the evidence mattered in their negotiation of settlements.
He claimed Bestwall analyzed information from assessment questionnaires and is prepared to use it to support its liability estimate at trial.