Asbestos bankruptcy judge pulls plug on lawyers’ plot
June 14, 2009 by Editorial Team
Filed under News Blog
PITTSBURGH – Bankruptcy Judge Bruce McCullough unraveled a plot between asbestos lawyers and bankruptcy lawyers, saving Travelers Insurance $146 million.
McCullough ruled May 26 that collusion between the Maritime Asbestos Legal Clinic of Detroit and Skinner Engine bankruptcy lawyers at McGuire Woods in Pittsburgh prevented him from confirming a settlement they planned.
The plan would have channeled 20 percent of Travelers payments to Skinner Engine, pumping millions into a business that doesn’t do any business.
Because Skinner Engine wouldn’t collect if its defense succeeded, he wrote, “Debtor is nothing but financially incentivized to sabotage its own defense.”
He wrote that he himself would breach the Travelers policies that Skinner Engine held if he confirmed the plan.
Read original article here: http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/219466-asbestos-bankruptcy-judge-pulls-plug-on-lawyers-plot