A federal appeals court ordered Travelers Cos. Inc. to pay more than $500 million to thousands of asbestos victims in a case stemming from the insurer's coverage of Johns-Manville Corp., Reuters reported today. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a February 2012 ruling in which U.S. District Judge John Koeltl said that conditions under three settlement agreements in 2004 that required Travelers to make the payment had not been satisfied. Circuit Judge Ralph Winter said that Judge Koeltl's interpretation "could not reasonably have been intended by the parties, whatever Travelers's private hopes and dreams, and is not supported by the language of the agreements." The Second Circuit ordered the reinstatement of a 2011 ruling by the late Hon. Burton R. Lifland, who oversaw Johns-Manville's bankruptcy, that Travelers make payments required under the 2004 agreements, plus $65 million of interest. Judge Koeltl had reversed that ruling. A Travelers spokesman said that the insurer is reviewing Tuesday's decision and has set aside reserves to cover the entire payout, apart from interest payments. The case is Common Law Settlement Counsel, et al. v. Travelers Indemnity Co., et al., Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 12-1094, 12-1140 and 12-1205.
