NCOIL Adopts Asbestos Resolution
NU Online News Service, August 11, 10:30 a.m. EDT?The Albany, N.Y.-based National Conference of Insurance Legislators' property-casualty insurance committee has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for reform of the asbestos litigation system and supporting certain federal and state initiatives aimed at remedying the current approach.
The Resolution Regarding the Need for Effective Asbestos Reform, sponsored by committee chair George Keiser, acknowledges the "elephantine mass" of asbestos cases flooding state courts and threatening the ability of companies to compensate the truly sick.
The resolution calls on Congress and state legislatures to enact "properly constructed, reasonable, and balanced mechanism[s]" for funding asbestos liabilities.
Such mechanisms include provisions for:
? Fair compensation of functionally impaired asbestos victims
? A tolled statute of limitations for unimpaired victims.
? The financial solvency of businesses exposed to asbestos liability.
? A requirement that a claimant file suit either in the jurisdiction of his asbestos exposure or in the jurisdiction of the defendant's principal place of business.
"Our resolution," Mr. Keiser said, "will help send a message to both federal and state lawmakers that the rising tide of asbestos litigation now must end. State legislators have an imperative to offer direction on the most reasonable mechanism for reform of the asbestos system?and that reasonable mechanism must be fair to all parties involved."
Adoption of the resolution follows the July passage of S.B. 1125, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2003, by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill, introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would establish a national asbestos trust fund to pay claims for those functionally impaired as a result of their asbestos exposure.
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