Asbestos Manufacturers Celotex Corp.
Posted on Friday, June 24th, 2016 at 1:54 pm
Celotex Corporation: History
In the 1920s the Celotex Corporation of America and its subsidiary Celotex Company of Great Britain established themselves in importing bagasse fiberboard. The company was reincorporated when it was bought by Jim Walter. He purchased Celotex Corporation of America. Its main line of business was to make and distribute building products used residentially and commercially. One of its subsidiaries was Carey Canada Inc. The Carey Canada Inc. mined and processed asbestos fiber for Celotex products.
Asbestos Manufacturers: Celotex – Cavity wall board
The asbestos fibers were used in some of the following Celotex products:
- Vitricel asbestos sheets
- Carey flex board
- Carey thermalite
- Celotex cavity wall board
- Carey stone corrugated sheets
- Carey stone roofing and siding
- Celobric buff blend textured
Celotex Corporation: Asbestos related lawsuits
The company faced thousands of lawsuits relating to asbestos exposure. They defended themselves against the lawsuits but the liability kept mounting. By 1998 the company had three hundred and eighty thousand (380 000) claims against it relating to exposure from asbestos fibers and health claims amounting to about two hundred billion dollars ($200 billion).
A wife whose husband died from mesothelioma made one such claim. Her husband had worked for an asbestos insulation contractor and distributor for forty eight (48) years. During his employment he mainly handled the Carey products in the warehouse and was exposed to and inhaled asbestos dust. A jury awarded her husband’s estate five hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars ($588 000) for the lawsuit.
In October 1990, Celotex filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Its plan for reorganization was approved in 1996. In 1998, they set up the Asbestos Settlement Trust to settle active and future asbestos related claims. The company was thereafter relieved of current and future claims as they were all transferred to the trust. The amount in trust was one million two hundred and forty six thousand dollars. ($1.246 million).