Elizabeth Warren Was Paid
Over $200,000 To Help Defend Traveler's Insurance From Claims That It Broke
Consumer Protection Laws In Asbestos-Related Cases
Warren Was Paid $212,000
Over Three Years By Travelers, The Nation's Largest Insurer. "For her contribution, Warren was paid $212,000
over three years by Travelers, the nation's largest insurer." (Noah
Bierman, "Warren Had Key Role In Asbestos Court Case," The Boston
Globe, 5/1/12)
Warren Consulted On
Travelers Indemnity Company v. Pearlie Bailey, et. al. (Office Of The Secretary Of The Senate, Personal
Financial Disclosure Of Elizabeth Warren, 5/14/10)
Warren Worked For
Travelers Indemnity's New York Law Firm, Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett, LLP.
(Office Of The Secretary Of The
Senate, Personal Financial Disclosure Of Elizabeth Warren, 5/14/10)
Travelers Was Sued For
Breaking Consumer Protection Laws In Asbestos-Related Cases
"Johns Manville,
Once The Nation's Largest Maker Of Asbestos, Filed For Bankruptcy In
1982." (Tiffany Kary,
"Travelers Ordered to Pay $500 Million to Johns Manville Asbestos
Victims," Bloomberg, 12/16/10)
In 1986, A Federal
Bankruptcy Court Judge Approved The Establishment Of A Trust To Settle All
Asbestos Claims Against The Bankrupt Johns Manville. "The case centers on Denver asbestos manufacturer
Johns-Manville Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in 1982 under the weight of
asbestos liability claims. To deal with the potentially unwieldy size and
complexity of those claims, a federal bankruptcy court judge in 1986 approved
establishing the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust to settle all
asbestos claims." (Zack Phillips, "Supreme Court Bars New Manville Asbestos
Claims Against Travelers," Business Insurance, 6/19/09)
Under The Agreement
Johns Manville's Insurance Company - Travelers - Would Contribute Millions To
The Trust In Exchange For Immunity From Future Claims. "Under the agreement, Manville's insurers-including
Travelers, its primary liability insurer until 1976-contributed hundreds of
millions of dollars to the trust in exchange for immunity from future claims
that were "based upon, arose out of, or related to Manville's liability
insurance policies." (Zack Phillips, "Supreme Court Bars New Manville
Asbestos Claims Against Travelers," Business Insurance, 6/19/09)
By 2001, The Manville
Trust Had Slashed The Payments To Victims Dying Of Cancer To $10,000 Or Less -
Down From Hundreds Of Thousands Per Claimant In The 1980s. "The Manville Trust, the first major compensation
fund that followed the bankruptcy of Johns-Manville Corp., has paid out more
than $2 billion but is now paying victims 5 cents on the dollar to assure there
will be money left for other claimants. The trust has slashed payments to
victims dying of cancer to $10,000 or less--down from hundreds of thousands per
claimant in the late 1980s." (Lisa Girion, "Firms Hit Hard As
Asbestos Claims Rise," Los Angeles Times, 12/17/01)
Plaintiffs Began Filing
Suits In State Courts Against Travelers Despite The Original Agreement That
Established The Trust.
"Ten years later, plaintiffs began filing suits in state courts against
Travelers, despite the agreement that was approved by a bankruptcy court in New
York." (Arthur D. Postal, "Bankruptcy Asbestos Settlement Protects
Travelers, Says High Court," Property And Casualty 360, 6/19/09)
The Lawsuits, Filed In
2001, Accused Travelers Of Breaking Consumer Protection Laws Because It
Allegedly Hid The Dangers Of Asbestos While Serving As Johns Manville's Primary
Liability Insurer Until 1976. "The
lawsuits at issue were filed in 2001 against Travelers accusing the carrier of
breaking consumer protection laws and other laws because it allegedly hid the
dangers of asbestos while serving as Manville's primary liability insurer until
1976. Moreover, the company failed to warn the public, the suits claimed."
(Arthur D. Postal, "Bankruptcy Asbestos Settlement Protects Travelers,
Says High Court," Property And Casualty 360, 6/19/09)
In 2004, Travelers
Settled With Several Plaintiffs, Agreeing To Pay $500 Million In Exchange The
Court Clarifying Its 1986 Order Barred Such Lawsuits Against The Insurers. "Travelers in 2004 settled with several plaintiffs,
agreeing to pay $500 million in exchange for an order from the bankruptcy court
clarifying that its 1986 order barred such lawsuits against the insurers, which
the court granted." (Zack Phillips, "Supreme Court Bars New Manville
Asbestos Claims Against Travelers," Business Insurance, 6/19/09)
In 2008, The 2nd
Circuit Court Of Appeals Reversed That Ruling Saying The Bankruptcy Court Had
No Authority To Block Lawsuits Against The Insurer. "However, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed
that ruling last year. It said the bankruptcy court had no authority to block
the lawsuits because they involved insurers and not the bankrupt Manville
estate." (Zack Phillips, "Supreme Court Bars New Manville Asbestos
Claims Against Travelers," Business Insurance, 6/19/09)
In June 2009, The
Supreme Court Overturned The 2nd Circuit Courts Ruling - Thereby
Shielding Travelers From Future Lawsuits Against Asbestos Victims. "In June 2009, the Supreme Court overturned a ruling
that allowed suits against units of Travelers by people harmed by exposure to
asbestos." (Arthur D. Postal, "Bankruptcy Asbestos Settlement
Protects Travelers, Says High Court," Property And Casualty 360,
6/19/09)
"Barry Ostrager,
Attorney For Traveler's At Simpson, Thacher & Barlett In New York, Said The
Decision Upheld His Argument Before The Supreme Court That The '1986 Injunction
Did And Always Has, Barred The Direct Actions.' Specifically, the court said in its decision 'that the
terms of the 1986 injunction bar the direct actions against Travelers, and the
finality of the Bankruptcy Court's 1986 Orders generally stands in the way of
challenging their enforceability.'" (Arthur D. Postal, "Bankruptcy
Asbestos Settlement Protects Travelers, Says High Court," Property And
Casualty 360, 6/19/09)
Warren Was Roundly
Criticized For Her Role In Defending Travelers Insurance
The Boston Globe : "… Warren, Who Has Gained Fame For Defending
Consumers Against Big Business, Was In This Case Working On Behalf Of A Big
Business." (Noah Bierman, "Warren Had Key Role In Asbestos Court
Case," The Boston Globe, 5/1/12)
"'She's Supposed To
Be A Consumer Advocate? That's Laughable,' Said Gayla Benefield, An Asbestos
Victims' Advocate And Victim Herself. 'Those Lawyers Are Trying To Keep Every
Penny Away From People Who Are Faced With This Disease. I Guess She's Just
Doing Her Job, But I Don't Think She Would Get The Vote Of Anybody Who's An
Asbestos Victim.'" (Hillary
Chabot, "Foes: $ Taints Prez Adviser's Credibility," The Boston
Herald, 7/5/11)
An Attorney Who
Represented Thousands Of Asbestos Victims Said Travelers Was "Tried To Get
Out On The Cheap. Instead Of Answering For What They Did In Front Of Regular
People On A Jury, They Want A Bankruptcy Court To Bail Them Out." "Attorney Justin Shrader, who has represented thousands
of asbestos victims, said the kind of trust that Warren is defending will often
pay out very low amounts to victims and allows companies to make a quick
settlement to avoid years of future asbestos lawsuits. 'Travelers saw the
handwriting on the wall in the '80s. They were looking at thousands of victims
who were going to get cancer over the next several decades and tried to get out
on the cheap. Instead of answering for what they did in front of regular people
on a jury, they want a bankruptcy court to bail them out,' Shrader said."
(Hillary Chabot, "Foes: $ Taints Prez Adviser's Credibility," The
Boston Herald, 7/5/11)
Warren Helped
Defend A Conglomerate In Fighting Against A Congressional Requirement That To
Pay Millions Of Dollars Into A Fund For Retired Coal Miners
Warren Wrote A Petition
To The U.S. Supreme Court To Help LTV Steel "In Its Fight Against A
Congressional Requirement That It Pay Millions Of Dollars Into A Fund For Its
Retired Coal Miners' Health Care." "US Senator Scott Brown has attacked Elizabeth
Warren in recent days for her legal work on behalf of Travelers Insurance in an
asbestos case, asserting that it undermines her reputation as a consumer
advocate. But Travelers is not the only large corporation Warren has
represented. Warren also helped write a petition to the US Supreme Court for
LTV Steel in the 1990s, assisting the former industrial conglomerate in its
fight against a congressional requirement that it pay millions of dollars into
a fund for its retired coal miners' health care." (Noah Bierman,
"Elizabeth Warren Assisted Mining Company," The Boston Globe , 8/25/12)
- Warren's Work On Behalf Of LTV Steel "Would Seem To Undercut Her Image As A Middle-Class Champion." "Her advocacy on behalf of a large corporation, opposing a mandate to pay for the health benefits of blue-collar retirees and their families, would seem to undercut her image as a middle-class champion, the central message of the Democrat's Senate campaign against Brown, the Republican." (Noah Bierman, "Elizabeth Warren Assisted Mining Company," The Boston Globe , 8/25/12)
Warren Argued That LTV
Steel Should Be Able To Defer Its Obligations To Assist In Coal Miners' Health
Care While It Emerged From Bankruptcy. "The case involved the question of whether LTV,
which was emerging from bankruptcy when the Coal Act took effect in 1993, could
be forced to pay out more money after its bankruptcy was completed. Warren
argued that the company's obligations under the Coal Act should have been
addressed as part of the bankruptcy. Warren worried that in the future, similar
claims would also have to be put off until the bankruptcy procedure ended, her
campaign said. That could imperil victims of companies that shut down
completely instead of reorganizing as LTV did, her campaign said." (Noah
Bierman, "Elizabeth Warren Assisted Mining Company," The Boston Globe , 8/25/12)
The Clinton
Administration Argued LTV And Other Companies Were Trying To Take Advantage Of
Bankruptcy Law To Avoid Their Responsibility To Coal Miners. "But opponents, including the Clinton
administration, argued that LTV and other companies challenging the statute
were trying to take advantage of the bankruptcy laws to avoid their
responsibility. And mine workers and their advocates also argued that if LTV or
any other company tried to avoid paying into the Coal Act fund, the entire fund
could collapse." (Noah Bierman, "Elizabeth Warren Assisted Mining
Company," The Boston Globe , 8/25/12)
AFL-CIO President
Richard Tumka And Former Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller Were Among Those On
The Left Who Opposed LTV Steel's Arguments. "'No exception should be made to this act,' Richard
Trumka, then president of the United Mine Workers, told a congressional panel
in 1993. 'When it unravels, you will have roughly 200,000 miners and
beneficiaries out there that will lose their health care.' Senator John D.
Rockefeller IV, of West Virginia, made a similar argument, telling the panel
that retirees, whose average age was 77, could be left 'out in the cold' if
firms won any exemptions from the law." (Noah Bierman, "Elizabeth
Warren Assisted Mining Company," The Boston Globe , 8/25/12)
As A Senator, Warren
Bends Over Backward To Support The Medical Device Industry In A Cozy
Relationship That One Democrat Staffer Described As "Repulsive"
Time Headline: "Elizabeth Warren Goes To Bat For Medical
Device Industry." (Massimo
Calabresi, "Elizabeth Warren Goes To Bat For Medical Device
Industry," Time, 2/5/15)
Warren's
"Coziness" With Medical Device Companies "Is Now Earning Her
Criticism Within Her Party, With One Former Democratic Senate Staffer
Describing Some Of Her Positions As 'Repulsive.'" "Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic star who just last
week unveiled a bill targeting the profits of large drug makers, doesn't sound
like much of a populist when it comes to another group of big health care
corporations, the medical device manufacturers, many of which happen to be
headquartered in the Senator's home state of Massachusetts. Warren's coziness
with those companies is now earning her criticism within her party, with one
former Democratic Senate staffer describing some of her positions as
'repulsive.'" (Massimo Calabresi, "Elizabeth Warren Goes To Bat For
Medical Device Industry," Time, 2/5/15)
Warren's Support Of The
$336 Billion Medical Device Industry "Contrasts With Her Criticism Of
Other Industries." "Warren's
record supporting the medical device industry, which had $336 billion in domestic
revenues in 2013, contrasts with her criticism of other industries. On a
section of her website devoted to 'leveling the playing field' she says, 'The
most profitable corporations should have to pay their fair share.' The
Obamacare medical device tax that she wants to repeal will cost the industry
$29 billion over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. In a
hearing this year on a Republican bill that she said would have lowered the
cost of Obamacare on businesses, Warren said, 'I'm against adding $53 billion
to the deficit so that corporations can push their costs and responsibilities
onto the government.'" (Massimo Calabresi, "Elizabeth Warren Goes To
Bat For Medical Device Industry," Time, 2/5/15)
"Since She Launched
Her Campaign For The Senate In 2011, Warren Has Come Out In Favor Several
Medical Device Industry Priorities." "Warren is widely seen as the defender of everyday
Americans against the scourge of business interests that she says manipulate
Washington, rig regulation and fuel corporate welfare. But when it comes to the
medical device industry, she sings a different tune, albeit quietly. Since she
launched her campaign for the Senate in 2011, Warren has come out in favor
several medical device industry priorities, including rewriting Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) regulations, bolstering federal research funding and
making permanent certain temporary tax credits for research and
development." (Massimo Calabresi, "Elizabeth Warren Goes To Bat For
Medical Device Industry," Time, 2/5/15)
In Her 2015
Pharmaceutical Bill, Warren Included A Loophole For Medical Device
Manufacturers To Be Exempt From Her Proposed Penalties. "What Warren didn't say was that her bill has a
loophole in it for medical device manufacturers. Those companies, which make
everything from latex gloves to Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines, would be
exempt from her proposed penalties unless they also make drugs. At the same
time, her bill explicitly ensures that the so-called 'medtech' companies would
benefit from the research dollars that her 'swear jar' would generate."
(Massimo Calabresi, "Elizabeth Warren Goes To Bat For Medical Device
Industry," Time, 2/5/15)
In April 2012, Warren
Said It Was "Essential" To Repeal The Medical Device Tax
Warren Said Repeal Of
The Medical Device Tax Was "Essential." "Three changes in government policy are essential:
a more efficient regulatory system at the FDA, repeal of the medical device
tax, and an increased national commitment to research and education."
(Elizabeth Warren, Op-Ed, "A Climate For Innovation," Mass Device,
4/17/12)
Warren Said When
Congress Taxes The Sale Of A Specific Product Through An Exise Tax It "Too
Often Disproportionately Impacts The Small Companies With The Narrowest
Financial Margins And The Broadest Innovative Potential." "Smarter regulation is key, but it isn't enough:
innovation also depends on a fair tax system. When Congress taxes the sale of a
specific product through an excise tax, as the Affordable Care Act does with
medical devices, it too often disproportionately impacts the small companies
with the narrowest financial margins and the broadest innovative
potential." (Elizabeth Warren, Op-Ed, "A Climate For
Innovation," Mass Device, 4/17/12)
Warren Said The Medical
Device Tax Would Push Companies Of All Sizes To Cut Back On Research And
Development For Life-Saving Products. "It also pushes companies of all sizes to cut back on research and
development for life-saving products." (Elizabeth Warren, Op-Ed, "A
Climate For Innovation," Mass Device, 4/17/12)
Warren Called For
"An Appropriate Offset" To Repeal The Medical Device Tax
"Without Cutting Health Care Coverage For Millions Of People." "With an appropriate offset, we can repeal the
medical device tax without cutting health care coverage for millions of people
or forcing Americans to fight the whole health care battle all over
again." (Elizabeth Warren, Op-Ed, "A Climate For Innovation," Mass
Device, 4/17/12)
Further
Underscoring The Shadiness Of Her Big Business Associations, Warren Refuses To
Release A Full Accounting Of Her Corporate Legal Work
In May 2012, Warren's
Campaign Refused To Release A Full List Of Cases She Has Been Involved In. "Her campaign would not release a full list of
cases she has been involved in. And, while some representation appears in
scattered court records, much of her consulting can be done without placing her
name on dockets as an attorney of record." (Noah Bierman, "Warren Had
Key Role In Asbestos Court Case," The Boston Globe, 5/1/12)
In September 2012,
Warren Said She Did Not Have A List Of Corporate Clients She Has Represented. "Pressed by host Jim Braude to release a list of
other corporate clients she has represented, Warren said, 'I don't have
it.'" (Michael Levenson, "Elizabeth Warren Defends Work On Asbestos
Lawsuit," The Boston Globe, 9/24/12)
