Georgia-Pacific, owned by Koch Industries, employ controversial legal tactic to circumvent paying millions to sickened workers

Georgia-Pacific, owned by Koch Industries, employ controversial legal tactic to circumvent paying millions to sickened workers

Asbestos victims, their families and attorneys are claiming a Koch Industries-owned company and its lawyers are using a controversial bankruptcy maneuver to avoid paying millions in compensation to its former employees.

Workers at Georgia-Pacific, a paper and building products company, have been locked in a years-long battle with a company over claims asbestos in its products caused fatal cancers.

The case has come as the Koch brothers’ political network has pushed for legislation to protect companies facing asbestos-related claims and limit payouts for victims.

Koch Industries bought Georgia-Pacific in 2005. The company faces over 60,000 asbestos lawsuits but has not paid out anything since 2017 when the company conducted a controversial maneuver known as the “Texas two-step”.

  • @ceenote@lemmy.world
    85•6 months ago

    Since the summary stops just short of explaining what they’re doing: They’re creating an LLC (in Texas) that will assume liability for all the damages, but has no assets of its own and exists only to declare bankruptcy so as to avoid paying. It’s a loophole that obviously was deliberately created to be used in exactly this way.

      • @godzillabacter@lemmy.worldEnglish
        40•5 months ago

        It’s so funny because it is criminal activity for regular non-corporation people. Transferring assets to family/hiding assets for the purposes of declaring bankruptcy but not losing the assets is illegal. Functionally identical to what is going on here, except they’re somehow transferring the liability instead of the assets.

    • @noride@lemm.ee
      24•6 months ago

      Same thing DuPont did to try a shuck PFAS liability onto newly created Chemours chemical company.

      • peopleproblems
        8•5 months ago

        Yes, and I’m curious why they think this will work.

        Georgia Pacific was found to be liable, not this LLC

        • @albert180@feddit.de
          8•5 months ago

          Maybe it’s about maintaining the image of being the biggest assholes inside of the United States at this point