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This Wall Won’t Hold: Preventing Foreign Claims on Asbestos Trusts
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August 25, 2025
This Wall Won’t Hold: Preventing Foreign Claims on Asbestos Trusts
By: George Calhoun
Bankruptcy continues as a favored vehicle for the resolution of mass-tort claims, particularly asbestos-based claims. In two recent cases in Delaware, an often-overlooked issue has raised a red flag concerning the fairness of the trusts proposed in many of these cases. The plan proponents in those cases proposed asbestos trusts that provided that foreign claimants were not eligible for payment. It is a foundational principle of U.S. bankruptcy law, however, that the bankruptcy courts do not discriminate against claimants based on the origin of their claims. The motivation behind these exclusions appears to be a claimant-driven desire to limit competition, but that motivation is incompatible with the Bankruptcy Code. The result has been, at least in the Imerys talc bankruptcy,…
The Referral was the Easy Part – Where does Gabbard’s Evidence Lead DOJ?
July 29, 2025
The Referral was the Easy Part – Where does Gabbard’s Evidence Lead DOJ?
By: James Trusty
Americans are used to a considerable level of dirty tricks when it comes to politics. Occasionally, however, a legal line is crossed and a high-level official is either chased out of office, subjected to a criminal prosecution, or both. Ask Richard Nixon, Marvin Mandel, and Bob Menendez. Despite the predictable proclamation from prominent democrats that DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard’s referral is “old news” and “politically…
Baltimoronic Investigation
July 8, 2025
Baltimoronic Investigation
By: James Trusty
June 24, 2025, may mark the day that the criminal justice system for Baltimore, Maryland finally established its lunacy. If the allegations are correct, an employee of Pretrial Services committed what Maryland officials view as a cardinal sin—he or she let ICE know that there was an illegal alien coming to the office. Armed with that information, ICE showed up at the courthouse, was allowed…
Modern Day Ceasar Faces Brutal End
August 23, 2021
Modern Day Ceasar Faces Brutal End
By: James Trusty
Last week’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in U.S. v. Sinmayah Ceasar, 2021 WL 3640387 (2nd Cir. Aug. 18, 2021) provides some insight into the challenging area of defining a “reasonable” sentence and ascertaining the circumstances when appellate courts might overturn a judge’s sentencing decision for being “unreasonably” lenient. The case against Ceasar was not built in a day. The government obtained evidence that…
Time to Face the (Hidden) Music
August 2, 2021
Time to Face the (Hidden) Music
By: James Trusty
A Texas man named Guy Reffitt has found himself at the edge of the new legal frontier, a place where privacy rights and encrypted technology face aggressive prosecutors willing to push for their strongest criminal case. This Guy did not bring a lot of sympathy to the legal battle—he is alleged to have traveled from Wylie, Texas to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, with…
Of Permits, Preliminary Injunctions, and Pine Beetles
June 29, 2021
Of Permits, Preliminary Injunctions, and Pine Beetles
By: James Trusty
Last Independence Day, there was a big firework show at Mt. Rushmore, the first one since 2009. President Trump joined Governor Kristi Noem, and the show was well-attended by South Dakotans and tourists alike. Governor Noem liked it so much that she put in for a permit this year, only to be rejected by the National Park Service. That’s when the real fireworks began. The…
Biden’s aggressive Justice Dept – Civil Rights Division putting local police on notice. Here’s how
May 19, 2021
Biden’s aggressive Justice Dept – Civil Rights Division putting local police on notice. Here’s how
By: James Trusty
This article was originally published on FoxNews.com on May 16th, 2021. Department of Justice priorities obviously can change with new administrations, and history shows this with regularity. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was greatly concerned with the Mafia’s activities, and John Ashcroft wanted more obscenity and pornography prosecutions. Generally, the subject matter emphasis pops up and recedes, while the rank and file of DOJ continue prosecuting…
When Double Jeopardy Means No Jeopardy
March 25, 2021
When Double Jeopardy Means No Jeopardy
By: James Trusty
In March of 2019, on the afternoon in which Paul Manafort was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison by the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance unveiled an indictment against Manafort for mortgage fraud and similar state offenses. As rumors had begun to swirl that President Trump might pardon Manafort’s two federal prosecutions, Vance announced that, “No…
