The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Recovery (FAIR) Act, S. 852, would establish a $140 billion trust fund to compensate victims of asbestos-related diseases, taking most cases out of the litigation system. Would the establishment of this trust fund solve the threat of unbounded liability for companies that used asbestos, or would it encourage a further multiplication of claims while failing to protect companies from later attacks and overriding state reforms in Texas and Ohio? Does FAIR appropriately distribute the burden of the trust fund across the American economy, or does it formalize previously unjust results or favor large manufacturers to the detriment of smaller enterprises? Is the creation of any sort of trust fund legally, economically, and politically viable? Does FAIR correctly strike the balance between excluding illegitimate claims of injury and meeting the needs of real victims? Are there better alternatives? These questions and others will be discussed.
Panelists include Lester Brickman, professor of law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and an expert on the history of asbestos litigation; Patrick M. Hanlon, partner at Goodwin Procter LLP with extensive asbestos litigation experience; and Kevin A. Hassett, resident scholar and director of economic policy studies at AEI. Ted Frank, AEI resident fellow and director of AEI’s Liability Project, will moderate the discussion.
The AEI Liability Project (www.liabilityproject.org) seeks to promote a better understanding of the scope and consequences of the liability crisis and to help ensure that political or legal reform efforts are aimed at the appropriate targets.
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