The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. announced that it has executed an agreement resolving substantially all common law asbestos-related direct actions pending against its Travelers Property Casualty Corp. subsidiaries.
“These actions allege, among other things, a general, non-statutory duty to disclose to the public the hazards of asbestos, said the announcement. “The settlement, if it receives court approval, would also bar similar future direct actions against Travelers.”
The settlement announcement follows similar agreements made in November, 2003 and March, 2004, which settled certain statutory-based direct action claims, including purported class actions in West Virginia and elsewhere. Travelers noted that these agreements did not “resolve the so-called common law direct actions, which are the subject of this settlement.”
