ABB settles bulk of US asbestos claims

GENEVA (AFP) — The Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB said that its 1.43-billion-dollar (1.18-billion-euro) settlement of asbestos claims was now finalized, marking the likely end of a costly 16-year legal battle.

ABB said in a statement that no appeals were filed in a US District Court against revised bankruptcy plans for its targeted US subsidiary, Combustion Engineering, by an end March deadline, "which means the plan is now final".

The final settlement approved by the court in Wilmington, Delaware, under the plan last month, will protect ABB and its subsidiaries from more asbestos claims.

"This is a milestone in the history of ABB," said ABB president and chief executive Fred Kindle.

Combustion Engineering built industrial boilers insulated with asbestos, which can cause long-term damage to the lungs, including cancer.

When it took over the US company in 1990, ABB inherited lawsuits from ...