H.K. Porter, Inc.
Originally known as Smith and Porter, H.K. Porter was founded in 1866 when Henry Porter and John Smith established a machine shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Initially, the business was dedicated to the manufacture and repair of industrial equipment, but by 1867 had received their first order to build a locomotive engine. Smith and Porter would eventually build 43, four-wheeled, light industrial locomotives.
Near the turn of the century, Smith had departed and the company, H.K. Porter began building a different locomotive product: engines that ran on compressed air, primarily for use in coal mines. Eventually, Porter became the market leader for compressed air locomotives, receiving the lion's share of all orders placed in the United States.
With the gasoline internal combustion engine and the automotive industry taking off, Porter built a gasoline powered locomotive engine in 1911. This creation gave rise to its innovation in fireless, steam pressure engines, another market which the company eventually dominated. After Porter died, Thomas Mellon Evans bought the company in 1939. After making 8,000, Porter produced its last locomotive in 1950. Cooper Industries continues to use the H.K. Porter name as a brand for a line of metal tools.
H.K. Porter and Asbestos
The extreme heat produced by locomotive engines required considerable fireproofing, heat shielding and other safety measures. To this end, H.K. Porter utilized asbestos in many of its locomotives and locomotive parts as heat shielding. Although H.K. Porter produced no new locomotives after 1950, it continued to produce other industrial products that were used in a number of industries related to shipbuilding. In 1959, the company acquired a maker of protective clothing that used asbestos as a fire and heat-proofing material.
Workers who built locomotives or locomotive components that contained asbestos, as well as those who worked to produce the asbestos-containing clothing manufactured by the company could likely have suffered exposure to asbestos. In addition, wearers of such clothing as well as shipyard workers who may have been exposed to asbestos-containing products manufactured by H.K. Porter could have been susceptible to exposure, as well as rail workers.
H.K. Porter and Asbestos Litigation
At the time it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991, H.K. Porter Co. had been named in more than 70,000 asbestos-related personal injury suits. Much of its liability was derived from its acquisition, in 1959, of a manufacturer of asbestos-containing protective clothing.
At the time it emerged from bankruptcy in 1998, more than 120,000 claims had been filed, and it was estimated that the total number of claims that Porter would actually face exceeded 550,000 with an overall value of $2 billion. The reorganization plan called for a $104 million trust (the H.K. Porter Asbestos Trust) to be established to address the asbestos-related lawsuits. Claimants were expected to recoup only around five percent of the actual value of their claims.
The bankruptcy proceeding was fraught with animosity as a number of unsecured creditors brought an adversary proceeding against the company's private owner, Thomas Mellon Evans, accusing the financier of the fraudulent transfer of more than $150 million out of H.K. The adversary hearing was settled with an agreement to provide the creditors with $20 million in cash and $11 million in the form of a promissory note, all of which would be applied to the asbestos trust. The remainder of the funding from the trust came in the form of $47 million in liquid assets then held by H.K. Porter, along with another $25 million from the Pennsylvania Insurance Guaranty Association and the company's own insurers.
Although H.K. Porter at one time manufactured asbestos-containing locomotive engines, railroad workers who were exposed to asbestos-containing locomotive products manufactured or supplied by the company may face an uphill battle in bringing claims against the company without the guidance of a mesothelioma or asbestos lawyer. A number of courts, including the California and Alabama Supreme Courts have held that asbestos suits related to locomotive parts are preempted by the Federal Locomotive Inspection Act, which regulates all claims with respect to locomotive parts.
Anyone who may have been exposed to asbestos-containing products should maintain optimal health and inform their doctor of their exposure history. Catching asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma early is important to effective treatment options.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Thursday, February 9th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
