2nd Circuit Reverses Lower Court Finding, Orders Travelers to Pay $500 Million to Asbestos Claimants

NEW YORK –– An appellate court has reversed a lower court’s finding that Travelers Indemnity Co. and Travelers Surety Co. were not obligated to pay more than $500 million to certain asbestos claimants, ruling that conditions under settlement agreements were satisfied.

In the July 22 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit found that a later, clarifying order was not an expansion on 1986 orders outlining the terms of settlement agreements between Travelers and Johns-Manville Corp.

According to the 2nd Circuit, for years, Travelers was the primary insurer for Johns-Manville Corp., a supplier of asbestos-containing products. …