The judge overseeing Imerys Talc America’s bankruptcy says she needs more information about a bid to disregard 18,000 votes on the talc miner’s proposed restructuring plan that were changed after they were initially submitted, which could interfere with the company's ability to push the deal forward, Reuters reported. At a virtual hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein in Wilmington, Delaware signed off on requests from insurers and a group of personal injury claimants to probe what they say are problems ranging from late-filed votes to potentially invalid votes. If votes in favor of the plan are tossed, as one group of claimants represented by Arnold & Itkin have sought, the current 80% approval of the plan among personal injury claimants could be at risk. Imerys Talc filed for bankruptcy in February 2019 in the face of around 15,000 lawsuits alleging its products caused ovarian cancer and asbestos-related mesothelioma. It is the U.S.-based unit of French group Imerys SA. In 2020, it was sold to Magris Resources Canada for $223 million. Those proceeds will go to a trust that, under the company’s proposed chapter 11 plan, will pay personal injury claims.
