According to Reuters, Cooper Industries agreed to pay $307.5 to settle asbestos-related claims with Penumo Abex, LLC. Cooper Industries, electrical and utility products manufacturing company, entered into a mutual guaranty agreement to settle certain obligations relating to any asbestos-related personal injury claims incurred by Pneumo Abex.
Pneumo Abex filed a lawsuit challenging a joint venture between Cooper and Danaher related to the company’s rights and obligations under a mutual guaranty agreement.
According to settlement terms, Cooper’s subsidiary will pay about $307.5 million to a settlement trust, while Pneumo Abex parent company and one of its affiliates contributes $5 million to the trust and $15 million to Pneumo Abex.
Other terms include that Pneumo Abex will continue to resolve asbestos-related claims asserted against it, and the settlement trust will secure against Pneomo Abex and Cooper with asbestos-related personal injury claims.
Cooper will incur a pre-tax, non-cash gain after adjusting its estimated net liability for its obligations under the guaranty agreement to the amount payable under the settlement.
Pneumo Abex found itself named in a number of lawsuits alleging asbestos-cancer-related deaths. Asbestos, once widely used in manufacturing, is partially banned by the U.S. government after discovery that the mineral causes cancer, specifically mesothelioma.