H.K. Porter Asbestos Trust: Claims and Payment

H.K. Porter Company, Inc. filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition on February 15, 1991 in the Western District of Pennsylvania, case number 91-468-WWB (PGH). The Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization was confirmed by order of the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dated June 25, 1998, and the trust's site says the H. K. Porter Asbestos Trust was created in 1998 as a result of that confirmation. The trust assumed liability for all asbestos claims under the plan and operates under the Asbestos Claims Resolution Procedures. Those procedures offer an expedited payment election based on scheduled amounts for mesothelioma, lung cancer, other cancer and non-malignancy, each paid at the payment percentage. They also set maximum values for claims that go through non-expedited review. The trust site states that it resumed accepting asbestos personal injury claims for processing on July 23, 2008. In February 2024 the trustee began reviewing the payment percentage and paused new offers. On December 12, 2024 the bankruptcy court granted the trustee's motion for declaratory judgment on authority to amend Section 4.1 of the procedures, and the amendment took effect December 30, 2024. The trust's January 2025 update states the payment percentage will remain at 3.0% and that new offers would resume by January 31, 2025.