R.I. Court: Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claim Forms Discoverable for ‘Limited Evidentiary Purposes’

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– A Rhode Island trial court has found that claim forms submitted with bankruptcy trusts are neither privileged nor protected by the work product doctrine in part since the documents were not prepared in anticipation of litigation.

In the Jan. 30 order, the Rhode Island Superior Court granted Crane Co.’s motion to compel documentation submitted with the bankruptcy trusts, but stopped short of ruling that the claim forms were admissible.

The trial court further opined that after conducting an in camera review of the documents in question, it found nothing that “alters the Court’s previous rulings …