Asbestos Settlement Trusts Must Face Suit Over Data Retention

A group of settlement trusts created to handle claims against manufacturers of cancer-causing asbestos failed in their bid to toss a lawsuit challenging a new data retention policy that would delete information older than a year.

The companies suing over the policy change—which commonly face asbestos litigation—adequately alleged they’ll suffer harm because they’ll no longer be able to obtain decades of claims data held by the trusts, the Delaware Chancery Court said in an Oct. 24 order.

As many asbestos manufacturers faced litigation over alleged injuries tied to their products and filed for bankruptcy, they created settlement trusts as ...