Supreme Court Reaches Narrow Holding in Asbestos-Related Case

“Almost aquarter-century after the 1986 Orders were entered, the time to prune them isover.”  The following sentence, taken fromJustice Scalia’s majority opinion in the asbestos-related case TravelersIndemnity Co. v. Bailey sums up the Court’s admittedly narrowholding.  In its decision, the Court refuses to entertain what it deems to be a collateral attack on Orders issued by a bankruptcy court overt twenty years ago during the reorganization of asbestos manufacturer Manville.  In its decision, the Court declinedto rule on whether any particular plaintiff is bound by the Orders, aqualification makes the affect of this decision on the number ofcurrently pending asbestos-related cases hard to determine.

The full text of the opinion can be found here.