Combustion Engineering Files Chapter 11 Petition

WILMINGTON, Del. - Combustion Engineering has filed for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code after announcing that most plaintiffs who have named the company in more than 100,000 pending asbestos-related lawsuits have accepted a $1.2 billion settlement offered by the firm. In Re Combustion Engineering, Inc., No. 03-10495 (D. Del., Bankr.).

The bankruptcy plan was submitted Feb. 17 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which is where the company is incorporated.

Officials at ABB, Ltd., said that about 103,000 plaintiffs have already accepted a settlement plan that calls for the bankruptcy of Combustion Engineering, a …