Automakers Sue Over Honeywell Plan to Sell Bendix to Federal-Mogul

WILMINGTON, Del. - A proposed sale of Honeywell's Bendix Friction Products Division to bankrupt Federal-Mogul Corp. would be an illegal transfer that could deprive thousands of asbestos claimants of compensation for their injuries, several major auto makers allege in a complaint filed in federal bankruptcy court. In re: Federal-Mogul Global, Inc., et al.; DaimlerChrysler Corp., et al. v. Federal-Mogul Corp., et al., No. n/a (D. Del., Bankr.).

According to the complaint filed Sept. 24 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the proposed transaction amounts to the sale of a 524(g) injunction, immunizing Honeywell from present and future asbestos liability, in …