Discussion

The extent to which exposures to the asbestos-containing products of bankrupt firms are identified during a tort case has important implications for plaintiffs and remaining solvent defendants. The failure of plaintiffs and defendants to identify all such exposures can mean that a remaining solvent defendant will pay more than it would if all exposure were identified. Failure to identify exposure to the products of bankrupt parties might also result in greater plaintiff compensation than otherwise from bankruptcy trusts and the tort case combined. As discussed in Chapter One, plaintiffs thus have disincentives to identify exposure to bankrupt firms’ products, while