States Challenge Georgia-Pacific’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Shield

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have urged a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling granting industrial giant Georgia-Pacific LLC protection from asbestos liability suits through a subsidiary’s bankruptcy.

The 2-1 decision last month by a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was the first federal appellate court to bless a “manipulation of the bankruptcy process,” the 20 states—which largely lean Democratic—and the District of Columbia said in a court filing Wednesday. The states and DC joined a committee of cancer patients in asking the court to revisit the ruling.

“This decision threatens ...