Gilbert represents the SWC Asbestos Personal Injury Trust (the “Trust”) in its efforts to obtain recoveries under dozens of general liability insurance policies. The Trust was created after confirmation of the bankruptcy of SWC Industries LLC (“SWC”) to assume all liabilities and responsibility for SWC’s asbestos claims and to collect and distribute Trust assets to asbestos claimants, including any proceeds from SWC’s insurance. As counsel for the Trust, Gilbert is leading both a coverage litigation against certain insurers currently underway in the Northern District of Illinois and efforts to negotiate settlements with multiple other insurers that would provide funding without the need for litigation.
Prior to confirmation of the SWC bankruptcy, Gilbert served as coverage counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 proceedings. In this role, Gilbert attorneys worked to evaluate and preserve all insurance assets potentially available to pay injured claimants and to create a bankruptcy plan and trust distribution procedures that preserve and protect the resulting Trust’s ability to collect from SWC’s insurers. Through this process, Gilbert led negotiations with nearly a dozen insurance companies that objected to SWC’s plan. Ultimately, Gilbert was able to resolve these objections to SWC’s plan (with one minor exception on which Gilbert prevailed at the confirmation hearing). These efforts led to the confirmation of SWC’s plan on May 6, 2025, less than six months after SWC initially filed for bankruptcy, while preserving the Trust’s access to the insurance.