04/08/2008 - National Legal News

W.R. Grace, a specialty chemical company that operated plants in Massachusetts and Montana, agreed to a settlement yesterday for asbestos claims brought against the company in a class action lawsuit.

More than 100,000 claims have been brought against W.R. Grace by individuals who claimed to have been injured by exposure to asbestos. Pending approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald, the settlement would allow W.R. Grace to make steps towards moving out of bankruptcy, which the company filed for in 2001, and start compensating the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

If the settlement is allowed, the company would immediately deposit $250 million into a trust for victims. Starting in 2019, the company would contribute an additional $110 million to the trust for five successive years followed by ten annual payments of $100 million. The agreement would also make public 10 million shares of W.R. Grace stock that plaintiffs would be able to purchase for $17 a share for up to one year after the company’s reorganization.