Asbestos settlement pays out $5M

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/01/2012 (5043 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don Stefanchuk got to play Santa Claus this week, handing out close to $5 million to several Manitoba property owners.

The Manitoba head of Pinchin Environmental Ltd. distributed payout cheques from a multimillion-dollar legal settlement with asbestos manufacturer Federal Mogul that was more than eight years in the making.

The recipients owned buildings that contained a type of asbestos fireproofing material called Limpet that was used extensively in Canadian buildings in the latter half of the last century.

Winnipeg Airports Authority received the largest award in Manitoba at $700,000 because of the presence of Limpet in the old airport terminal.

The claim comes as the WAA is preparing to demolish the old terminal, and Pinchin is involved in asbestos abatement in the building before demolition begins.

The WAA’s Christine Alongi said there has to be particular care taken in dealing with asbestos issues from buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s.

“But the class action and the nice outcome had nothing to do with our plans for the old building,” she said.

The Canadian involvement in the U.S. settlement is unique in a few ways. Pinchin officials say the legal claims would likely have failed had they been presented in Canadian court. The Canadian participation was not instigated by the property owners, but by Pinchin’s own efforts.

About 70 per cent of the $32-million eventual settlement will go to Canadian building owners. And of that Canadian component, about 25 per cent will be distributed to Manitoba claimants.

“Manitoba has more than its fair share from a geographic perspective,” Stefanchuk said.

Pinchin Environmental acted as an agent for the plaintiffs. Its founder, Don Pinchin, has done pioneering work in asbestos legislation and remediation and has acted as an expert witness in lawsuits in Canada, the United States and Europe.

His contact with South Carolina lawyers involved in a class-action suit alerted the American lawyers to the fact there were many Canadian buildings that also had the asbestos present in their buildings and could become part of the suit.

Pinchin’s staff in their offices across Canada set to work providing the technical data needed for the court submissions and effectively did all of the legwork for the award recipients.

Another large award recipient — $198,000 — was the Canadian Wheat Board, whose Main Street head offices underwent extensive renovation over the past decade, including expensive asbestos abatement.

Wheat board spokeswoman Maureen Fitzhenry said, “Our renovation started in early last decade and Pinchin Environmental came in to handle the asbestos removal. They brought to our attention that there was a class-action suit that might be applicable to us. We agreed to be part of it and there was really no work or cost for us to be involved.”

In most cases, the asbestos has already been removed from the buildings in question. Manitoba award recipients also include government buildings, school divisions and private-sector buildings.

One of the private-sector properties that will be part of the windfall is 287 Broadway. Doug Russell of Inlett Properties, owner of the building, said there has been paperwork back and forth, but he hasn’t received a cheque yet.

It will likely come in handy as the 65,000-square-foot building is being refurbished top to bottom.

Alan Runyan, a partner in Speights & Runyan, the South Carolina law firm that spearheaded the class action and bankruptcy claims action, said there are still other actions ongoing against other asbestos manufacturers.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca