Rand Asbestos

Question 1

What compensation issues does the RAND study examine?

Answer 1

• Dual recovery for the same injury is possible: Some plaintiffs recover payments once in the tort system and then again from the trusts
• Payments coming from trusts and from tort defendants are not explicitly coordinated

Question 2

What are Four ways in which trusts and tort cases can be linked?

Answer 2

1 - Information sharing
2 - Setoffs: Only 4 of the 6 states allow setoffs for all trust payments that occur during the tort case
3 - Indirect Trust Claims
4 - Limitation on Trust Payments

Question 3

Four ways in which trusts and tort cases can be linked:

Information Sharing

Answer 3

• Courts require the disclosure of any trust claims on file

* Plaintiffs are seldom required to file trust claims before trial

Question 4

Four ways in which trusts and tort cases can be linked:

Indirect Trust Claims

Answer 4

• In JSL states, a defendant that pays a full tort judgment will typically be able to recover from a trust following the tort case, if it can develop the info required to bring a trust claim
• When liability is several, a verdict defendant does not cover the liability of other parties and thus will typically not be able to bring an indirect claim against a trust

Question 5

Four ways in which trusts and tort cases can be linked:

Limitation on Trust Payments

Answer 5

Prevent trusts from paying more than one on the same injury, some trust prohibit payments to direct claimants when another party has satisfied the trust’s liability and they require the direct claimant to indemnify the trust for future indirect claims

Question 6

Explain differences in total compensation to plaintiffs under 2 types of liability regimes

Answer 6

• In states with JSL, total compensation should not be affected
• In several-liability states compensation could vary, defendant need to persuade the jury to assign the same fault to the bankrupt firms to decrease compensation

Question 7

Explain differences in payments by solvent defendants under 2 types of liability regimes

Answer 7

Stakes are greater for both plaintiffs and solvent defendants in states with several-liability than they are in states with JSL

Question 8

Conclusion What further information is needed?

Answer 8

Data are needed on total plaintiff compensation over time to determine which outcomes actually occur in practice. Further analysis is needed to evaluate the performance of the current system and to suggest reforms