Grace Settles Asbestos Claims

W. R. Grace has reached an agreement in principle with a group of asbestos claimants that has been a decade-long hurdle in the firm’s emergence from bankruptcy reorganization. The agreement would set up a $20 million trust fund to finance a medical program for residents of Libby, Mont., who claim their health was harmed because of an asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mine Grace operated in the community. Separately, a U.S. District Court judge in Delaware confirmed the firm’s reorganization plan originally approved a year ago by a bankruptcy court judge. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The company says other appeals and objections must still be resolved before a date can be set for the firm to finally emerge from court supervision.