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March 13, 2009 |
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ASBESTOS LITIGATION: Actions Ongoing v. Crown Cork in Pa. Courts Crown Holdings, Inc.'s subsidiary, Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., is still a defendant in asbestos-related lawsuits in Pennsylvania courts. In December 2001, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enacted legislation that limits the asbestos-related liabilities of Pennsylvania corporations that are successors by corporate merger to companies involved with asbestos. The legislation limits the successor's liability for asbestos to the acquired company's asset value adjusted for inflation. Crown Cork has paid significantly more for asbestos-related claims than the acquired company’s adjusted asset value. In November 2004, the legislation was amended to address a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision (Ieropoli v. AC&S Corporation, et. al., No. 117 EM 2002) which held that the statute violated the Pennsylvania Constitution due to retroactive application. On Feb. 6, 2009, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed, due to the plaintiff's lack of standing, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas' dismissal of three cases against Crown Cork raising federal and state constitutional challenges to the amended statute (Stea v. A.W. Chesterton, Inc., et. al, No. 2956 EDA 2006). This decision remains subject to appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Crown Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells packaging products for consumer goods. Products include steel and aluminum cans for food, beverage, household, and other consumer products and metal vacuum closures and caps. At Dec. 31, 2008, the Company operated 139 plants along with sales and service facilities throughout 41 countries and had about 21,300 employees. |
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