Babcock & Wilcox Solvent When It Transferred $625 Million to Parent Co.

NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana bankruptcy judge has ruled that asbestos defendant Babcock & Wilcox was solvent when it transferred some $625 million to its parent company about two years prior to filing its Chapter 11 petition. The Official Asbestos Claimants' Committee, et al. v. The Babcock & Wilcox Co., No. 01-1155 (E.D. La. Bankr.).

In a 58-page decision issued Feb. 8, Judge Jerry A. Brown said he was not convinced the plaintiffs had met their burden of showing that B&W's real and estimated future asbestos liabilities exceeded the value of the company when the transfer was made.

"The court …