Opinion ID: 714797
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Objections to the Settlement; the Trial Courts' Rulings

Text: 18 In addition to the question of Maryland set-off rules, submitted to them by the parties' Settlement Agreement, the Trial Courts were presented with two objections that are pertinent to the present appeals. First, as set forth in greater detail in Part II.B. below, some 150 claimants who had filed or intended to file claims in the District of Columbia (the D.C. Plaintiffs) moved to opt out of the plaintiff class on the ground that the TDP would limit the settlement amounts they received from the Trust to 10% of the value assigned to their claims, while District of Columbia law would require that a judgment against a codefendant be reduced by the Trust's full pro rata share of the verdict. Second, as set forth in greater detail in Part II.C. below, USF & G, which had denied any obligation to pay asbestos-related claims of any member of the MacArthur Subclass, moved to intervene and objected to so much of the Settlement Agreement as required the creation of the MacArthur Fund. USF & G argued that that fund would give the MacArthur Subclass an unfair advantage in litigating insurance coverage claims against USF & G. 19 After holding fairness hearings on the proposed Settlement in November 1994, issuing a preliminary decision approving the Settlement in December 1994 (December 15 Memorandum), circulating the December 15 Memorandum widely to all parties and attorneys representing Trust claimants, and hearing oral arguments in January 1995 on various proposed amendments to the December 15 Memorandum, the Trial Courts issued their final decision, i.e., Findley III, in an Amended Memorandum, Orders and Final Judgment dated January 19, 1995 (Amended Memorandum). The plaintiff class was certified to include 20 [a]ll past, present and future Beneficiaries of the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust each of whom has or will have a claim either for wrongful death or personal injury caused by exposure to asbestos, or a claim for warranty, guarantee, indemnification or contribution arising from an obligation of the Trust for the payment of death or personal injury claims. 21 Findley III, 878 F.Supp. at 575. The D.C. Plaintiffs' motion to opt out was denied. The Trial Courts held that because the Settlement had been negotiated in the context of a non-opt-out class action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(1)(B), it binds all parties to the action and that to permit one group to opt out in the absence of special circumstances would destroy the delicate balances and fairness created by the Settlement. The Courts concluded that no special circumstances warranted exercise of the Courts' discretionary authority to grant the D.C. Plaintiffs leave to opt out. 22 As to USF & G, the Trial Courts stated that the insurer might have, at best, a potential future right to subrogation or indemnity from the Trust; but they concluded that as an insurer denying coverage to defendants on asbestos-related claims, USF & G lacked sufficient interest in the outcome of the present Trust-restructuring litigation to permit it to block a reasonable settlement. Accordingly, the Courts granted USF & G's motion to intervene but rejected its challenge to the establishment of the MacArthur Fund.