Insurers who could be left footing the bill for personal injury litigation against former talc miner Cyprus Mines Corp. are challenging the company's proposed candidate to represent future tort claimants, Reuters reported. Cyprus is asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein in Delaware to approve Roger Frankel as the future claims representative (FCR) in its chapter 11 case. A status conference on the matter is scheduled for today. The company, represented by Reed Smith, filed for bankruptcy protection in February as part of a settlement with another bankrupt talc company, Imerys Talc America, that had acquired some of its talc-related assets in 1992. Cyprus is one of the companies that has been sued in recent years by plaintiffs alleging a link between exposure to talc products and certain types of cancer and asbestos-related diseases. As of Feb. 16, the company was facing 436 lawsuits making talc-related personal injury claims, according to court papers.
