Gold Bond

Gold Bond manufactured a variety of products that contained asbestos. Litigation involving asbestos exposure ultimately forced Gold Bond as well as its parent company, National Gypsum, to pursue a bankruptcy in 1990. A trust fund for asbestos exposure compensation was later created with $347 million.

In the mid-1920s, the National Gypsum Company created flexible and lightweight wallboard, which became known as Gold Bond due to promotional certificates promising the superiority of these wallboards in comparison to other similar products. The Gold Bond product line later widened to include more than wallboard, but many of these other products also contained asbestos.

Asbestos was once commonly used in Gold Bond products due to the material’s durable and heat-resistant nature. Many asbestos-containing products were sold under the Gold Bond label between the 1940s to the start of the 1980s.

Gold Bond stopped using asbestos at the start of the 1980s, but countless locations still contained Gold Bond products with asbestos in them.

In the last few decades, thousands of lawsuits addressing asbestos exposure have been brought by people who either made or used Gold Bond products.

In 1985, both National Gypsum and Gold Bond Building Product became involved in a settlement referred to as the Wellington Agreement between insurance providers and manufacturers who had placed asbestos in products. The agreement helped to resolve countless lawsuits between companies that had manufactured asbestos-containing products and their insurers through the creation of the National Claims Facility, which addressed claims for only three years before its dissolution.

The financial pressure brought on by asbestos claims ultimately forced National Gypsum as well as its Gold Bond Building Products division to pursue Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company was discharged from bankruptcy in 1993, but several entities were established by the reorganization plan, which included:

• The National Gypsum Corporation Settlement Trust was established to address all asbestos-related personal injury and property damage claims. These matters were handled by the Center for Claim Resolution.
• New National Gypsum was established as a new company that purchased the Gold Bond division.
• Old National Gypsum and its associated asbestos liability gained the name of Asbestos Claims Management Corporation.
• In 1997, the trust began to lack adequate funds to address future asbestos exposure claims.

In 2002, the Asbestos Claims Management Corporation also pursued bankruptcy. The entity emerged from bankruptcy in 2003 and as a term of its discharge was required to establish the National Gypsum Company Bodily Injury Trust. The trust was first funded with $347 million to address future asbestos claims. The trust pays 41% of claims, which is a much larger covered amount than many other existing asbestos trusts.

Many people were exposed to asbestos-containing products due to the manufacture and use of Gold Bond products. If you or a loved one is facing a mesothelioma diagnosis, you should remember that you do not have to go it alone and a skilled attorney can fight for the results you deserve. Contact Throneberry Law Group today to schedule a free case evaluation.