Expanding on its significant experience recovering insurance in mass-tort bankruptcy cases, Gilbert LLP has been retained as Special Insurance Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (“UCC”) and the Future Claimants’ Representative (“FCR”) of Kidde-Fenwal, Inc. Kidde Fenwal filed for bankruptcy in May of 2023, citing the magnitude of liability it faced related to its historic production and distribution of aqueous film-forming foams (“AFFF”). AFFF is a type of firefighting foam which is alleged to contain, or degrade into chemicals containing, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). PFAS, also known as the “forever chemical” because it does not break down in the environment or in one’s body, has been linked to certain types of cancer and other diseases. Due to the number of claims brought against not only Kidde-Fenwal but other manufacturers and distributors of AFFF, AFFF-related claims were consolidated into a multi-district litigation (MDL) in South Carolina in 2008. The over 4,000 claims currently pending in the MDL have been brought by water providers, individuals, Attorneys General, and others, alleging that defendants, including the debtor, are liable for PFAS water and ground contamination as well as personal injuries that allegedly flow from the contamination. Kidde-Fenwal is the first company to file for bankruptcy stemming from its AFFF-related liability. In representing the UCC and the FCR, Gilbert is providing counsel and advice on insurance issues, working with key stakeholders to evaluate, preserve, and maximize insurance recoveries for the benefit of injured claimants. Due to Kidde-Fenwal’s corporate history, available insurance may reach back as far as the 1960s and be substantial in nature.

Gilbert LLP has been retained by the Claimants Committee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings filed by Aldrich Pump LLC and Murray Boiler LLC.  Aldrich and Murray are asbestos liability holding companies formed by the Ingersoll-Rand Co. and Trane Technologies PLC, respectively.  In representing the Claimants Committee, Gilbert is utilizing its expertise in recovering contested insurance funds in mass tort bankruptcy cases.  Aldrich and Murray purport to hold approximately $2.5 billion of insurance coverage. The debtors in this bankruptcy matter were created through the Texas Divisive Merger Statue, wherein the liabilities and obligations of the dividing entities are allocated among the new entities formed pursuant to the merger.

Facing substantial mass-tort liabilities arising out of thousands of claims alleging that the organization failed to protect children from sexual abuse, the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2020.  The Boy Scouts’ stated goal was to use the Chapter 11 process to create a trust to provide compensation to victims. On September 8, 2022, following years of negotiations among more than a dozen stakeholder groups, 59 hearings, and a 22-day confirmation trial, the bankruptcy court confirmed a Plan of Reorganization over the objection of dozens of insurers.  The U.S. District Court affirmed the decision on March 28, 2023, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed with minor modifications on May 13, 2025. In this complex and historic bankruptcy, Gilbert LLP represents the court-appointed representative for certain abuse victims in the Chapter 11 proceeding, providing counsel and advice to that group on insurance issues, and working with key stakeholders to evaluate, preserve, and maximize insurance recoveries for the benefit of injured claimants.  The confirmed plan provides $2.46 billion (including $1.6 billion in insurance settlements) to a trust benefiting survivors of abuse and the rights to pursue coverage potentially worth billions more. Following the court’s approval of Boy Scouts’ plan of reorganization, Gilbert LLP was retained as counsel in mid-2023 for the BSA Settlement Trust, using its expertise and experience from the bankruptcy to pursue and maximize the Trust’s insurance assets and implement the plan.

Gilbert’s work to combat the opioid crisis includes significant involvement in the bankruptcy arena, including playing a major role in negotiating the original 2021 bankruptcy settlement in In Re: Purdue Pharma LP that was ultimately reversed on appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court because of releases provided to members of the Sackler family who were not debtors in the bankruptcy.  Since the Supreme Court’s ruling Gilbert has been actively engaged in on-going mediations among the major claimants, Purdue and the members of the Sackler family to fashion appropriate relief for all parties. Gilbert is currently representing the Ad Hoc Committee of Governmental and Other Contingent Litigation claimants in an insurance coverage Adversary Proceeding in the Purdue Bankruptcy to secure funds to pay claimants once a plan of reorganization is ultimately completed.  Gilbert is also lead counsel in a coverage action filed on June 16, 2022 in Missouri state court on behalf of the Trust established to address opioid claims against Mallinckrodt. The Purdue and Mallinckrodt bankruptcies are two of several opioid matters in which Gilbert is involved, including the MDL proceedings in Ohio and litigations by state attorneys general and sovereign Indian tribes against opioid manufacturers, distributors, chain retailers, and others seeking remediation and damages for the U.S. opioid crisis.

Gilbert LLP builds on its long experience recovering insurance in mass tort bankruptcy cases representing three Committees and two Future Claimants Representatives in Chapter 11 proceedings filed by Imerys Talc America, Inc., Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, and Avon Products, Inc. In June 2019, Gilbert was retained as special insurance counsel to the Official Committee of Tort Claimants and the Future Claimants’ Representative in the Chapter 11 proceeding filed by Imerys Talc America, Inc. (and related companies), a primary supplier of talc to Johnson & Johnson. Imerys, facing thousands of lawsuits alleging its product caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2019.  Debtors’ bankruptcy petition alleges that over one billion dollars of insurance may be available to pay the talc claims, but insurers have disputed their obligations and objected to many aspects of the Debtors’ reorganization.  To date, Gilbert has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance proceeds, and continues to pursue many hundreds of millions more.  These recoveries will greatly enhance the ability of any resulting trust to pay the claims of individuals injured by talc. Similarly, Whittaker, Clark & Daniels (and other related companies) was a talc supplier to numerous companies for decades and faced thousands of claims alleging that its talc in various cosmetic and personal use products caused mesothelioma and other asbestos-related injuries.  Whittaker, Clark & Daniels filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, and the Official Committee of Talc Claimants and Future Claimants’ Representative quickly hired Gilbert LLP as Special Insurance Counsel. In August 2024, Avon Products, Inc. (as well as certain related companies) also sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in connection with its historical sales of cosmetic products containing talc.  Avon Products, Inc. has been sued numerous times by claimants alleging that they developed mesothelioma after using Avon cosmetic products.  Gilbert LLP was retained as Special Insurance Counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.  There is no Future Claimants’ Representative in the Avon Bankruptcy. In each of these talc bankruptcies, Gilbert LLP is working to help create a bankruptcy plan and trust distribution procedures to preserve and protect the trust’s ability to collect from the insurers obligated to pay these Debtors’ liabilities and, to the extent appropriate, securing consensual commitments from insurers to provide funding for the trusts. Gilbert LLP’s specific experience in this area—recovering contested insurance in the context of a mass tort bankruptcy case—led each of these Committees and Future Claimants’ Representatives to select Gilbert LLP as their insurance counsel.  These bankruptcies often involve massive insurance portfolios in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, and typically is the largest asset available to pay claims that are approved by the applicable Trusts.  Our skill at the intersection of these disciplines uniquely positions Gilbert LLP to add unparalleled value by evaluating, preserving, and recovering these valuable insurance proceeds.

A confirmed bankruptcy plan often is only the beginning of Gilbert LLP’s insurance recovery work in mass-tort bankruptcy cases. We are currently engaged as counsel to the Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund. In Chapter 11 proceedings filed by the U.S. subsidiaries of Takata Corporation, a Japanese automotive parts company facing mounting allegations of liability for personal injury and wrongful death resulting from defective airbags it manufactured and sold, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware appointed Gilbert LLP in 2017 as insurance counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Tort Claimant Creditors. During the bankruptcy proceedings, Gilbert attorneys worked to evaluate and preserve all insurance assets potentially available to pay injured claimants. Following entry of a plan of reorganization, Gilbert LLP has served as insurance counsel for the Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund. Gilbert LLP is using its unique experience in complex international disputes to seek recovery of insurance proceeds from Takata’s Japanese insurers so that these funds can be used to compensate the individuals injured by Takata.