The Keene Corporation began as a producer of heat-sealed plastic packaging, but expansion saw it acquire new companies, including manufacturers of fireproofing material that contained asbestos. With a list of 1,415 job sites where Keene asbestos-contaminated products were used, the company was named in over 11,000 asbestos personal injury lawsuits. In 1993, Keene filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.[1]
Keene Corporation History and Asbestos
In 1967, Navy veteran and businessman Glenn W. Bailey used his life savings to purchase a small New Jersey manufacturing company called Keene Packaging Associates. It was reorganized as Keene Corporation,[2] and then expanded with the acquisition of multiple new companies to create a diversified company similar to the one he had begun his career with. Among those acquisitions was Baldwin-Ehret-Hill, an insulation manufacturer with $30 million in annual sales, approximately $4 million of which came from asbestos-contaminated products.[1]
Though Bailey insisted that he did not learn about asbestos’ dangers until 1971 and all asbestos products were dropped from the line in 1972, Keene Corporation was named along with other asbestos companies as defendants in thousands of personal injury lawsuits filed by people diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
In 1981, Bailey established a holding company called Bairnco in hopes of separating itself from Keene’s legal troubles. By the end of 1981, Keene had resolved 2,425 of the asbestos claims filed against it, but almost 9,000 claims remained outstanding and named Bairnco along with Keene as defendants. The litigation facing the company resulted in an estimated $260 million paid for settlements from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. Bairnco eventually spun off Keene Corporation, which filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in 1993.[1]
Asbestos Products Manufactured and Sold by Keene Corporation
Though Keene Corporation began as a packaging company, its acquisition of Baldwin-Ehret-Hill led to it manufacturing and selling fireproofing materials that were contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos was commonly used in fireproofing materials because of its impressive heat insulation and flame retardant characteristics, as well as its availability and low cost.[3] The company also expanded to include thermal insulation and construction supplies in its product line, many of which contained asbestos.
In addition to being strong and heat resistant, asbestos is a carcinogenic mineral, and breathing in the microscopic fibers that it breaks down into can cause malignant mesothelioma and other serious illnesses. Though the company discontinued the use of asbestos in its products in 1972, thousands of workers who worked with or around Keene’s asbestos-contaminated materials were sickened.
The asbestos-contaminated products that Keene manufactured and sold included:
- Baldwin Mono-Block asbestos covering
- Ehret Air Cell
- Ehret Asbestos corrugated paper
- Ehret Asbestos Millboard
- Ehret Asbestos Paper
- Ehret Asbestos sponge Felt
- Ehret Asbestos Wick and Rope
- Ehret Durocel insulation
- Ehret Enduro High-Temperature Blocks
- Ehret Fibrekote
- Ehret’s 85% Covering
- Mono-block insulating cement
- Miners
- Number One insulating cement
- Pyrospray acoustical insulation
- Thermalite pipe insulation
- Thermasil asbestos block
- Thermasil insulating cement
- Valley Forge asbestos sheets, packings, and gaskets
People at Risk of Asbestos Exposure from Keene Products
The strategic diversification of Keene Corporation meant that the company manufactured and sold products used in a wide range of industries and applications, and many of those products were made using asbestos. This led to workers in diverse occupations and job sites being at risk for asbestos exposure, as well as many of Keene Corporation’s own workers. These individuals’ family members were also at risk of secondary asbestos exposure from asbestos carried home on their clothing, skin, and hair.
People at risk of exposure to Keene Corporation products included:
- Air conditioner repair professionals
- Asbestos abatement professionals
- Boiler operators
- Burner installers
- Carpenters
- Construction workers
- Drywall tapers
- Electricians
- Engineers
- Enginemen
- Foundry workers
- Insulators
- Kiln workers
- Military veterans (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard)
- Plumbers
- Repairmen
- Shipyard workers
- Welders
Asbestos Lawsuits Against Keene Corporation
Keene Corporation was named as a defendant in thousands of asbestos lawsuits by people who had either worked with or been exposed to their asbestos-contaminated products. They resolved 2, 425 in 1981, but by the time they created the Keene Creditors Trust asbestos bankruptcy trust, they were facing almost 100,000 pending lawsuits[4] accusing the company of failure to warn about the dangers of its products and seeking compensation.
Among the verdicts juries delivered against Keene Corporation were:
Among the many notable verdicts delivered against Keene Corporation were:
- A case was filed in 1989 against 13 asbestos companies, including Keene Corporation by John F. Welch. Welch had worked as an insulator, molding thermal asbestos insulation to pipes, ducts, and boiler room equipment at hundreds of work sites, and specifically named Keene’s products in his testimony. He accused the companies of negligently exposing him to asbestos products between 1954 and 1976. The jury returned a verdict of $878,566.66 against six of the defendants that remained, including Keene Corporation.[5]
- In 1992, a group of Alabama workers sued Keene for injuries caused by their exposure to asbestos-containing products the company had manufactured. The jury awarded the victims $816,600 in damages plus prejudgment interest.[6]
- In 1993, Ollis E. Kirk and Josephine Wittner filed a claim against Keene Corporation for asbestos-caused personal injuries suffered by Mr Kirk and Mrs. Wittner’s late husband John. Both men had been employed at Alabama shipyards and exposed to Keene Corporation’s asbestos-containing products. The suit alleged negligence, gross negligence, and product liability, and ended with the jury awarding each of the plaintiffs $100,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
With over 100,000 asbestos claims pending against them, Keene Corporation filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in 1993 and established the Keene Creditors Trust in 1996 to process, liquidate and pay all valid asbestos personal injury claims in accordance with the First Amended Keene Asbestos Related Personal Injury Claims Resolution and Distribution Procedures.[7]
The asbestos bankruptcy trust created a compensation program for victims of exposure to Keene Corporation’s asbestos-contaminated products who had been diagnosed with seven different diseases, offering the compensation levels shown below:
- Mesothelioma – $125,000
- Lung Cancer, Level II – $41,200
- Lung Cancer, Level I – None
- Other Cancers – $21,500
- Severe Asbestos-related Diseases – $41,200
- Asbestosis/Pleural Disease, Level II – $10,600
- Asbestosis/Pleural Disease, Level I – $4,800
If You Were Exposed to Keene Corporation’s Asbestos Products
The Keene Creditors Trust is actively paying asbestos victims for valid claims. An experienced mesothelioma attorney will be able to provide you with all of the information you need on your eligibility and how to file a claim.
