Georgia-Pacific Unit’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Is Valid, Judge Says

A Georgia-Pacific affiliate can remain in Chapter 11 because bankruptcy law doesn’t impose jurisdictional constraints requiring a debtor be in financial distress, a North Carolina judge said, reinforcing a bench ruling she made months earlier.

Judge Laura T. Beyer’s written order comes nearly seven months after she indicated during a hearing that she would allow Bestwall, the Georgia-Pacific unit created to handle asbestos liability, to remain in bankruptcy. Her ruling joins a growing body of opinions in the Fourth Circuit that are friendly to the Texas Two-Step, the mass-litigation strategy Georgia-Pacific started in 2017 when it shifted its liability to ...