CHAPTER 8. LIMITED LIABILITY CONCERNING ASBESTOS RELATED CLAIMS
IC 34-31-8
Chapter 8. Limited Liability Concerning Asbestos Related Claims
IC 34-31-8-1
"Asbestos claim"
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "asbestos claim" means any claim
for damages, losses, indemnification, contribution, or other relief
concerning asbestos, including:
(1) a claim relating to the health effects of exposure to asbestos,
including:
(A) personal injury;
(B) death;
(C) mental injury;
(D) emotional injury;
(E) risk of disease or other injury; or
(F) the costs of medical monitoring or surveillance;
(2) a claim made by or on behalf of any person exposed to
asbestos, including a claim of a:
(A) representative;
(B) spouse;
(C) parent;
(D) child; or
(E) other relative;
of a person exposed to asbestos; and
(3) a claim for damage or loss caused by the:
(A) installation;
(B) presence; or
(C) removal of asbestos.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-2
"Corporation"
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "corporation" means a corporation
for profit, including a domestic corporation organized under Indiana
law or a foreign corporation organized under the law of a jurisdiction
other than Indiana.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-3
"Innocent successor corporation"
Sec. 3. (a) As used in this chapter, "innocent successor
corporation" means a corporation that:
(1) assumes;
(2) incurs;
(3) has assumed; or
(4) has incurred;
successor asbestos related liability and became a successor
corporation due to a merger or consolidation with another
corporation before January 1, 1972.
(b) The term includes a corporation into which an innocent
successor corporation is at any time subsequently merged or
consolidated.
(c) The term does not include a corporation that, after a merger,
a consolidation, or the exercise of control or the ownership of stock
of the corporation before the merger or consolidation, continues in
the business of:
(1) mining asbestos;
(2) selling or distributing asbestos fibers; or
(3) manufacturing, distributing, removing, or installing asbestos
containing products that are the same, or substantially the same,
as those products previously manufactured, distributed,
removed, or installed by the transferor corporation.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-4
"Successor asbestos related liability"
Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "successor asbestos related
liability" means any liability that is related to an asbestos claim that
was assumed or incurred by a corporation as a result of:
(1) a merger or consolidation with another corporation;
(2) the plan of merger or consolidation related to the merger or
consolidation; or
(3) the exercise of control or the ownership of stock of the
corporation before the merger or consolidation.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-5
"Transferor corporation"
Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "transferor corporation" means a
corporation from which a successor asbestos related liability was
assumed or incurred.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-6
Liberal construction of chapter
Sec. 6. This chapter shall be construed liberally regarding
innocent successor corporations.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-7
Chapter application
Sec. 7. This chapter applies to a civil action asserting an asbestos
claim that is filed against an innocent successor corporation:
(1) after June 30, 2009; or
(2) before July 1, 2009, if trial has not commenced as of July 1,
2009.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-8
Limited cumulative successor asbestos related liabilities
Sec. 8. (a) Subject to subsections (c) and (d) and sections 10 and
12 of this chapter, the cumulative successor asbestos related
liabilities of an innocent successor corporation are limited to the fair
market value of the total gross assets of the transferor corporation,
determined as of the time of the merger or consolidation through
which the innocent successor corporation assumed or incurred
successor asbestos related liability.
(b) An innocent successor corporation is not responsible for
successor asbestos related liability in excess of the limitation set
forth in subsection (a).
(c) For purposes of this section, if a transferor corporation
assumed or incurred successor asbestos related liability in connection
with a merger or consolidation with a prior transferor corporation,
the fair market value of the total gross assets of the prior transferor
corporation determined as of the time of the earlier merger or
consolidation shall be substituted for the limitation set forth in
subsection (a) to determine the limitation of liability of the innocent
successor corporation.
(d) Cumulative successor asbestos related liabilities include
liabilities that exist after the merger or consolidation of the innocent
successor corporation and the transferor corporation and that are paid
or discharged by or on behalf of the:
(1) innocent successor corporation; or
(2) transferor corporation;
as part of a settlement or judgment in Indiana or another jurisdiction.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-9
Limitations application
Sec. 9. The limitations set forth in section 8 of this chapter apply
to the successor asbestos related liability of an innocent successor
corporation and do not apply to:
(1) worker's compensation benefits paid by or on behalf of an
employer to an employee under IC 22-3 or a comparable
worker's compensation law in another jurisdiction;
(2) a claim against a corporation that is not a successor asbestos
related liability;
(3) any obligation under the federal National Labor Relations
Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); or
(4) a collective bargaining agreement.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-10
Establishment of fair market value of total gross assets of
transferor corporation
Sec. 10. An innocent successor corporation may establish the fair
market value of the total gross assets, including intangible assets, of
a transferor corporation to determine limitations under section 8 of
this chapter by any reasonable method, including:
(1) by reference to the going concern value of the assets;
(2) by reference to the purchase price attributable to or paid for
assets in an arms length transaction; or
(3) in the absence of other readily available information from
which the fair market value can be determined, by reference to
the value of the assets recorded on a balance sheet.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-11
Liability insurance
Sec. 11. (a) If the total gross assets of a transferor corporation
include liability insurance issued to the transferor corporation, this
chapter does not affect the applicability, terms, conditions, or limits
of the liability insurance.
(b) This chapter does not affect the rights and obligations of an
insurer, transferor, or successor under an insurance contract or any
related agreements, including:
(1) preenactment settlements resolving coverage related
disputes; or
(2) contracts regarding the rights of an insurer to seek payment
for applicable deductibles, retrospective premiums, self-insured
periods, or periods as to which insurance is uncollectible or
unavailable.
(c) A settlement of a dispute concerning liability insurance
coverage entered into by a:
(1) transferor corporation; or
(2) successor corporation;
with the insurers of a transferor corporation before July 1, 2009, is
determinative of the total coverage of liability insurance to be
included in the calculation of a transferor corporation's total gross
assets under this chapter.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.
IC 34-31-8-12
Adjustment of fair market value of the total gross assets of a
transferor corporation
Sec. 12. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) through (d), the
sum determined as the fair market value of the total gross assets of
a transferor corporation as of the time of a merger or consolidation
for purposes of determining the limit on the cumulative successor
asbestos related liabilities of an innocent successor corporation under
this chapter shall be adjusted annually at a rate equal to the sum of
the following:
(1) The prime rate listed in the first edition of the Wall Street
Journal published for each calendar year since the merger or
consolidation. If the prime rate is not published in the first
edition of the Wall Street Journal, then a reasonable
determination of the prime rate on the first day of the year may
be used.
(2) One percent (1%).
(b) The rate described in subsection (a) may not be compounded.
(c) The adjustment of the fair market value of the total gross
assets of the transferor corporation as of the time of the merger or
consolidation shall continue as described in subsection (a) until the
date as of which the adjusted value is first exceeded by the
cumulative amounts of successor asbestos related liabilities paid or
committed to be paid by or on behalf of:
(1) the innocent successor corporation;
(2) any predecessor corporation; and
(3) the transferor corporation;
after the time of the merger or consolidation.
(d) No adjustment of the fair market value of total gross assets of
a transferor corporation under this section shall be applied to any
liability insurance.
As added by P.L.134-2009, SEC.6.