Bankruptcy Judge Approves Manville-Travelers Direct Action Settlements

NEW YORK - A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a nearly $500 million settlement of direct action asbestos lawsuits filed against Travelers Insurance Company by claimants who accused the insurer and several others of conspiring with insured Johns-Manville to conceal the dangers of asbestos exposure. In re Johns-Manville Corporation, et al., No. 82 B 11656 (S.D. N.Y., Bankr.).

In a decision issued Aug. 17, Judge Burton R. Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the settlement and invoked a gatekeeping provision the judge said would prevent claimants from circumventing the settlement approval and …