Bill shields company from asbestos claims

RICHMOND

A closely divided House of Delegates voted Monday to shield a company from liability to asbestos-related health claims.

Del. Terry Kilgore's bill, HB 629, doesn't mention any company by name. But the way it is drafted, it applies to only one: Crown Cork & Seal, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of cans and bottle caps. It has plants in Suffolk and Winchester.

Crown Cork & Seal has never manufactured any products containing asbestos. But in 1963 it purchased the stock of Mundet Cork Co., which had an insulation division that it sold 90 days later. Under existing law, Crown is liable to lawsuits resulting from the presence of asbestos in Mundet's insulation products.

Kilgore's bill. which won preliminary House approval, limits Crown's asbestos-related liability to the value of Mundet's assets at the time it was purchased.

Kilgore, R-Lee County, characterized the measure as a "jobs bill," saying it would protect a Virginia employer from potentially crippling litigation. Dozens of asbestos companies have been driven into bankruptcy by billions of dollars in lawsuits brought by workers who contracted deadly lung diseases from handling the material.

Opponents argued that the bill gives special treatment to a single company, allowing it to escape responsibility for its actions. "They've come to us and asked us to undo the effects of a bad deal they made," said Del. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County. "It sets a horrible precedent."

Said House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, "This bill turns 300 years of tort law on its head."

Crown has given $101,033 in campaign contributions to Virginia lawmakers since 2008, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. Kilgore, the bill's sponsor, received $3,000.

Delegates from South Hampton Roads split along party lines on the vote, Republicans in favor and Democrats against, except for Del. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk, who did not vote. He got $1,000 from Crown.

Republican Dels. Chris Jones of Suffolk got $1,750; Bob Purkey of Virginia Beach, $500; and Sal Iaquinto of Virginia Beach, $500.

Some Democratic opponents of the measure got money from Crown. Del. Lynwood Lewis of Accomack County received $750. Armstrong, who led the opposition on the House floor, was Crown's largest individual recipient, with $7,500.

Bill Sizemore, (804) 697-1560, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com