Duro Dyne Corporation is a manufacturer of sheet metal accessories and equipment for the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. Many of the most popular products sold from the early 1950s to about 1978 contained asbestos and have been linked to numerous people being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. To address pending asbestos liabilities, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and established an asbestos trust fund to compensate victims.[1]
Duro Dyne Corporation History and Asbestos
Duro Dyne Corporation was founded in 1952, selling its sheet metal products from the trunk of founder Milton Hinden’s car.[2] Based in Bay Shore, New York, the company’s owner created a unique flexible duct connector and filed an application for a patent in 1961, which was awarded four years later, in 1965. Prior to Hinden’s invention, flexible connectors were produced on a hand brake by folding the edge of two strips of steel over the fabric. Duro Dyne’s process revolutionized the way the products were produced. Over the years, the company created over 150 varieties of the original products and stocked them in four locations in North America, including Bay Shore, New York; Santa Fe Springs, California; Fairfield, Ohio; and Quebec, Canada.[3]
Over the years, the company evolved into the leading manufacturer of sheet metal accessories and equipment for the Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry. The company was committed to innovation and invested in extensive research and development that resulted in the development of additional products, including vane rail and blade kits that optimized air turning and increased the efficiency of air systems. Unfortunately, their research failed to recognize the dangers of the asbestos that they added to their products. They used asbestos because it could withstand the high-heat conditions common in HVAC equipment. Asbestos was a component of the company’s accessories until 1978, and the popularity of the Duro Dyne products led to them being included in many airflow systems installed in the 1960s and 1970s.
Duro Dyne was first named as a defendant in an asbestos personal injury claim in 1988. The family-held organization believed that it would be able to address the claims against it through insurance and cash flow and settled more than 650 asbestos claims filed by individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other illnesses. It also successfully won dismissals of more than 8,100 other claims. But by 2018, it had exhausted its insurance policies and still faced a thousand pending personal injury suits linked to asbestos exposure. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a plan to establish a trust from which all present and future asbestos claims would be paid.[1]
In the year before Duro Dyne filed for bankruptcy, it had about $69 million in sales, and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were about $5.2 million. The company anticipated increased earnings, and its attorney indicated that the filing was designed “solely to address the company’s asbestos liabilities.”
After establishing its asbestos trust fund, the company continued to operate successfully. It expanded to include several divisions and was acquired in 2021 by NSI Industries, LLC, a leading provider of electrical product solutions for more than 45 years.[4]
How Did Duro Dyne Corporation Use Asbestos?
Duro Dyne Corporation used asbestos in the products that it manufactured for heating and cooling systems because the material was inexpensive, easily accessible, and added durability. The mineral’s insulating and heat-resistant properties made it ideal for HVAC equipment that carried both hot and cold air.
The company’s patented flexible duct connectors were originally coated with asbestos. After the mineral was identified as being carcinogenic, the company switched to using fiberglass or vinyl.
Duro Dyne’s asbestos-containing products included:
- Duro-Metal-Fab Flexible Duct Connectors
- Econ-O-Fab Flexible Duct Connectors
- Junior Flexible Duct Connectors
The company also sold an asbestos-contaminated sealant branded as Duro Dyne Duct Sealer that was manufactured by Bordon Chemical. According to some of the asbestos lawsuits pending against the company, it also sold asbestos fibers or asbestos-containing products that it had purchased from RayBestos Manhattan, U.S. Rubber, Uniroyal, H.K. Porter, and other companies.
Which Workers Were at Risk of Asbestos Exposure from Duro Dyne Products?
Duro Dyne’s asbestos-containing products were specifically designed for use in heating and cooling systems. The occupations that were most likely to be involved in the installation, maintenance, repair, and removal of these systems included:[5]
- Sheet metal mechanics
- Sheet metal workers
- Sheet metal apprentices
- HVAC repairmen
- HVAC installers
- HVAC technicians
- Duct installers
- Furnace installers
- Boiler workers
Workers in other industries, including construction workers, plumbers, electricians, demolition workers, and others, may have worked with the equipment or have been exposed to it during installation, maintenance, repairs, or removal.
In addition to those who worked directly with Duro Dyne’s asbestos-containing products, the family members of workers who suffered occupational exposure were at risk of secondary exposure to asbestos carried into their homes on their loved one’s work clothes, hair, or skin.
Duro Dyne Asbestos Lawsuits
Duro Dyne Corporation was named in thousands of personal injury lawsuits by people diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases who had been exposed to the company’s products. Though many of these cases were settled out of court, a few went to trial, including the case of Genaro Garcia, a sheet metal worker who, together with his wife, filed a claim against the company in San Francisco County Superior Court after Mr. Garcia was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma.[6]
The Garcias named Duro Dyne and several other companies as defendants in their personal injury claim. They settled with several of the defendants and went to trial against Duro Dyne. The jury found Duro Dyne strictly liable for manufacturing asbestos-containing products and negligent in failing to warn customers or recall their products. The couple was awarded over 1.6 million dollars, including $125,000 in past medical expenses, $200,,000 in future medical expenses, $530,250 in nonmedical economic damages, and $750,000 in noneconomic damages.[6]
Duro Dyne Asbestos Personal Injury Trust
Though Duro Dyne Corporation’s owners originally believed that they would be able to manage their asbestos liabilities through their insurance policies and cash flow, the claims they paid exhausted their primary insurance policy, and the company found itself in disputes with insurance carriers that provided excess level coverage. Faced with bearing an increasing share of settlements and defense costs for the 1,000 cases pending against it, the company elected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[1]
The company’s original bankruptcy filing was complicated by objections from the Department of Justice (DOJ), which rejected their asbestos trust fund representative. Arguing that statutory standards were not met to ensure the representative’s independence due to the representative’s previous association with the company. The DOJ objection represented the first time the agency had ever objected to a debtor company’s proposed appointee to serve as future claimants’ representative in a case involving an asbestos bankruptcy trust. The objection was eventually overruled by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the case.[7]
The Chapter 11 filing and asbestos trust fund was eventually approved in 2020 and funded with $47,450,500. It began accepting claims in 2021 for the following disease levels and associated scheduled values:
- Mesothelioma (Level V) – $140,000
- Lung Cancer 1 (Level IV) – $50,000
- Lung Cancer 2 (Level III) – $25,000
- Other Cancer (Level II) – $20,000
- Severe Asbestosis (Level I) – $34,000
Were You Exposed to Duro Dyne’s Asbestos Products?
There are few things more frightening than knowing you’re at risk for an asbestos-related disease, but there are resources available to help. Even if you have no symptoms, if you worked with any of Duro Dyne’s asbestos-containing products or any other products containing the carcinogenic material, you should notify your healthcare provider so that they can monitor your health and respond quickly to any relevant symptoms.
If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease after having worked with Duro Dyne products, an asbestos lawyer can provide you with the information you need about filing a claim with the Duro Dyne Asbestos Personal Injury Trust.
Workers who were most likely to have been exposed to Duro Dyne’s products worked with numerous products that contained asbestos. If you worked with heat ducts, vents, and linings in the HVAC products that included Duro Dyne’s products, you may also be eligible to file claims against other manufacturers and companies. An experienced mesothelioma attorney will be able to help you assess other work sites or asbestos-containing products that may have contributed to your illness so that you can be sure to receive the compensation you deserve.
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