Manville Trust Settles $3 Billion in Asbestos Lawsuits ------------------------------------------------------ Published December 20, 2002 The Manville Trust, the first and largest asbestos trust, has paid over $3 billion to nearly 500,000 claimants and other beneficiaries as of November 30, 2002, making it the largest toxic tort or personal injury trust of any kind, including Dalkon Shield, which distributed $2.9 billion to nearly 200,000 claimants, and Agent Orange, which distributed almost $200 million to 105,000 claimants. Claims Resolution Management Corporation (CRMC), the Trust's claims processing facility, expects to receive about 57,000 claims for 2002, totaling approximately $200 million. About 80 percent of 2002's claims have been processed with the interactive Web-based e-Claims (patent pending) system, which has helped the Trust cut its processing costs by 50 percent. "The $3 billion paid by a single trust signifies the magnitude of the asbestos problem, which continues to grow," said David Austern, general counsel of the Manville Trust and president of CRMC. "The amount of money that will be necessary to resolve future claims -estimated at up to 2.4 million - will dwarf what Manville has already distributed." Asbestos lawsuits have cost 52,000 to 60,000 Americans their jobs and U.S. businesses - 61 of which have filed for bankruptcy protection - as much as $275 billion, according to December study commissioned by the American Insurance Association. In September the RAND Corporation projected that asbestos litigation will affect 85 percent of the US economy. The Manville Trust has exceeded the $2.054 billion made available when it was formed in 1988 to settle both present and future personal injury claims caused by exposure to asbestos produced by the Johns-Manville Corporation. Approximately $1.6 billion remains in the Trust estate, with roughly 50 percent in equity and 50 percent in fixed-income securities. The Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust was created as an independent organization in 1988 to distribute funds to those exposed to asbestos related products mined or manufactured by the Johns-Manville Corporation and its affiliated entities as equitably as possible, while balancing the rights of current claimants against those of future, unknown claimants. The Trust's mission is to "enhance and preserve the Trust estate" in order to "deliver fair, adequate and equitable compensation to (claimants), whether known or unknown." COMPANY PROFILE Johns Manville Corporation 717 17th St. Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303-978-2000 Fax: 303-978-3547 http://www.jm.com Employees : 10,000 (JM) Revenue : $ 37,668,000,000 Net Income : $ 795,000,000 Assets : $ 162,752,000,000 Liabilities : $ 104,802,000,000 (As of December 31, 2001 of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.) Description: Johns Manville (JM) produces commercial and industrial roofing systems and formaldehyde-free fiberglass building insulation for the commercial and residential building industries. JM is one of the nation's top makers of residential building insulation. It also produces specialty insulation for OEMs in the transportation, acoustics, appliance, and HVAC industries. Other products include fire-protection systems, air-filtration media for respirators and vacuum bags, glass textile wallcoverings, and fibers and nonwoven mats used in roofing and flooring. JM operates about 55 plants in China, Europe, and North America. Warren Buffett's Bershire Hathaway owns JM.