Trustee Charles Forman of Forman Holt Makes Additional Distributions to Asbestos Claimants in NSI Case
Pursuant to an order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Charles M. Forman, the Chapter 7 Trustee for National Service Industries, Inc. (NSI) has issued an additional distribution of $8 million to claimants. This distribution follows a distribution of $15 million in May of this year.
During the case, approximately 20,000 asbestos claims were asserted against NSI. After a claim review process developed by the Trustee and approved by the court, approximately 4,000 of these claims were approved.
We have helped thousands of asbestos-related insurance claimants in a Chapter 7 proceeding, a rare achievement. – Charles M. Forman, Trustee
As of the petition date, NSI was subject to thousands of personal injury or wrongful death claims arising from the distribution of asbestos-containing insulation by a previously-divested business of NSI dating back to the 1960s. NSI is the policyholder of numerous insurance policies that have covered and should continue to cover losses related to the asbestos claims.
Special insurance counsel to the Trustee, Gilbert LLP, negotiated numerous settlements with various insurance groups during the administration of the case, resulting in aggregate insurance recoveries in excess of $33 million.
The Trustee and his counsel, Gilbert LLP and Forman Holt, will continue to pursue resolution of remaining unresolved insurance assets and anticipates making a final distribution upon the close of the bankruptcy case which, hopefully, will occur next year.
