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Feeling Left Out: The Debate over Insurer Participation in Prepackaged Bankruptcy Plans

By Laura A. Foggan and Kimberly M. Melvin
February 01, 2004

In recent years, an increasing number of companies have sought to resolve current and future liability for long-tail exposures, such as asbestos or silica, by filing prepackaged bankruptcy cases. These bankruptcy filings raise numerous insurance-related issues.

In a typical prepackaged bankruptcy case, a company facing asbestos liabilities and the law firms representing the asbestos claimants engage in extensive negotiations regarding the potential resolution of the company's liabilities, in which insurers are not permitted to participate. These negotiations ultimately result in a settlement of the company's current and future asbestos liabilities that is memorialized in a prepackaged bankruptcy plan. Prior to filing the bankruptcy case, the company seeks and obtains support for the proposed plan from its creditors. Once the requisite creditor support is attained, the company files its prepackaged bankruptcy case seeking to significantly streamline the normal Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

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