Owens Corning asbestos creditor calls for consultants to be disqualified

By Jeff Pines

Washington, June 8 - An Owens Corning Corp. unsecured asbestos personal injury creditor wants the court to disqualify three consultants appointed to help the judge who was handling the company's along with the Chapter 11 cases of Armstrong World Industries, Inc., USG Corp, W.R. Grace and Federal-Mogul Corp.

All of the companies filed for Chapter 11 because of asbestos litigation.

Michael Pope, who has claims against all of the companies but Grace, also wants David Gross, Judson Hamlin and Francis McGovern to pay back everything they have been paid for their work.

All three consultants have "serious and substantial conflicts of interest" the Third Circuit court ruled, he said in a motion filed with the court Monday. Those conflicts were so serious that the appearance of partiality they created required the removal of judge Alfred Wolin from the cases.

They were supposed to be objective advisors, but instead served as partisans for the future asbestos claimants, Pope said.

McGovern, who is an advisor and a mediator, made the most egregious breach, he alleged by brokering a settlement, that includes a $20 million success fee, for an asbestos personal injury lawyer with the corporate parent of Combustion Engineering over the interests of the asbestos personal-personal injury claimants.

Owens Corning, a Toledo, Ohio-based building materials company, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 5, 2000 to obtain relief from asbestos-related lawsuits. The company's Chapter 11 case number is 00-03837.

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