US RPM plans to appeal asbestos ruling

02 December 2008 20:38  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US adhesives and coatings producer RPM plans to appeal a federal court ruling that placed caps on its insurance coverage for several asbestos claims.

The ruling should have no effect on RPM, as the company's $544m (€430m) asbestos accrual assumed that it would not recover any money in the suit, according to a research note by Kevin McCarthy, an analyst with Bank of America.

RPM filed the lawsuit in 2003 in Ohio federal court.

RPM alleged that its insurance policies offered limitless coverage of the asbestos claims connected to assets it bought from Reardon. 

RPM acquired the Reardon assets in 1966, and the asbestos claims concerned products made before the 1966 acquisition.

Any caps in RPM's policies did not apply to the Reardon claims, the company said.

The insurance companies disagreed, alleging that the Reardon claims did indeed have limits.

The court sided with the insurance companies.

($1 = €0.79)

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By: Al Greenwood
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