Bestwall asbestos committee requests case dismissal or plan deadline

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Aug. 19 – Bestwall LLC’s official committee of asbestos claimants asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina to dismiss the company’s Chapter 11 case for failure to prosecute it or set a deadline for confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan, according to a motion filed Friday.

The committee said Bestwall filed bankruptcy to resolve the asbestos liability of the company, New Georgia-Pacific (New GP), its non-debtor sister corporation, direct parent Georgia-Pacific Holdings, LLC and Koch Industries, the ultimate parent and its owners.

“The Chapter 11 case has been languishing in Chapter 11 for over 1½ years,” the motion said. “Despite the debtor’s repeated statements that under the funding agreement with New GP it has sufficient funds to pay its ongoing business expenses, the administrative costs of Chapter 11 and all of its asbestos liabilities, we are no closer to resolving this case than when it was filed in November 2017.”

The committee said Bestwall’s exclusive periods for proposing, soliciting and confirming a plan have now expired,” and all the debtor has produced is a shell plan that is unconfirmable on its face.”

In addition, the claimant group said no settlement discussions have occurred since January 2019 and no agreement has been reached by the parties regarding the scope, value, or path forward related to the company’s vast asbestos liabilities.

“Every single day that this Chapter 11 case remains in bankruptcy is another day that personal injury claimants injured by exposure to the debtor’s asbestos products are unable to pursue recovery against a defendant that asserts that it is fully able to pay its liability,” the motion said.

“While the claimants are held hostage, New GP is unencumbered by this bankruptcy case.”

According to the motion, a motion recently filed by Bestwall for the estimation of mesothelioma claims shows that the reason that this case has not been settled is that the company is seeking an alternative to the tort system to value its claims.

Specifically, the committee said Bestwall is seeking a “bankruptcy discount” despite its professed ability to pay the asbestos liabilities in full.

Bestwall, an affiliate of Atlanta-based pulp and paper company Georgia Pacific, filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 2, 2017. Bestwall’s Chapter 11 case number is 17-31795.

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