Rapid American/ Philip Carey Manufacturing
The Philip Carey Manufacturing Corporation, an asbestos-mining company which also manufactured and sold asbestos-containing insulation for industrial applications, was responsible for exposing thousands of miners, pipefitters, plumbers and other workers to asbestos used in its products from 1888 until the late 1960s.
History of Rapid American/ Philip Carey Manufacturing
The Philip Carey Manufacturing Corporation, nicknamed “Old Carey,” was founded in 1888 in Ohio. Until the company merged with the Glen Alden Corporation in 1967, Old Carey manufactured a line of insulation products that contained asbestos derived from the company's own asbestos mines in Canada.
Products manufactured by Old Carey included:
- Carey-Canadian Asbestos 7RF Floats
- Carey Thermo-Board concrete
- Carey Rock Wool
- Asbestos Magnesia Diatomite Rock Wool
- Carey Mineral Wool Block
- Careytemp
- Thermoglass
- Spun Mineral Wool Insulation
- Carey Stone
- Fire-Chex Singles
The 1967 merger with the Glen Alden Corporation was only the first shift in a dizzying succession of ownership and name changes. A new corporation was created, the Philip Carey Corporation, which continued Old Carey's asbestos operations and to which Glen Alden transferred the liabilities and assets from Old Carey.
In 1970, the Philip Carey Corporation merged with the Briggs Manufacturing Company to form Panacon. In addition to its manufacturing interests, Panacon at that time was the third-largest producer of asbestos in Canada. In 1972, Glen Alden sold the company to Celotex, a division of the Jim Walter Corporation, divesting its interests entirely in the business concern that was once known as the Philip Carey Manufacturing Corporation. The company merged once again with the Rapid-American Corporation, based out of Ohio.
Through a complicated series of mergers and acquisitions, it was ultimately Celotex that became responsible for compensating litigation claimants. Celotex struggled under the burden of asbestos litigation, ultimately filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1990. The Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust, initially funded with $1.25 billion, was established in 1997 as part of the company's reorganization plan for emerging from bankruptcy. By 2008, the trust had paid out $844 million in asbestos-related claims, but that amount was not enough to cover all of the damages awarded by courts over the years. Many asbestos-related claims against the company once known as the Philip Carey Manufacturing Corporation remain unsettled to this day.
Celotex and Asbestos Litigation
The first lawsuits against Celotex were filed in the 1970s, for liabilities assumed through the acquisition of the company once known as the Philip Carey Manufacturing Corporation. In 1977, Celotex's insurance carriers refused to cover asbestos-related claims, and by 1988, the company faced more than 50,000 asbestos-related lawsuits. That same year, the parent company Jim Walter Corporation was acquired by the global private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).
In 1989, a lawsuit filed on behalf of multiple asbestos victims in Beaumont, Texas, forced both Celotex and the Jim Walter Corporation into bankruptcy. Celotex emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997, and one of the conditions of its reorganization plan was the funding of the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust. The Jim Walter Corporation and its new owner KKR were subsequently not held liable for the asbestos-related claims; nevertheless, the Jim Walter Corporation, now renamed Walter Industries, contributed $375 million to the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust.
In 2000, Josephene Domanske brought suit against Rapid-American on behalf of her late husband Jesse Domanski, who died of asbestos-related lung cancer. Diagnosed with asbestosis in 1987, Domanski had worked in one of Old Carey's asbestos-shingle plants in the 1930s. Domanski and 14 other plaintiffs sued Celotex and eight other defendants. Domanski settled his claim for $65,000, signing a release that protected Celotex and “its successors and predecessors in interest” from any further liability in the matter. The Superior Court of New Jersey found Mrs. Domanske had no further grounds for action against Rapid-American, and her suit was dismissed.
Seeking Help
Individuals who were employed by the Philip Carey Manufacturing Corporation and have received a diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease may wish to find out more information about mesothelioma treatment options, prognosis and other asbestos-related topics. Please call (800) 615-2270 or fill out the form on this page to receive an informational packet to help in the process.
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Last Modified Thursday, February 9th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
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