(a) Not less than ninety (90) days before trial, if a defendant identifies an asbestos trust claim not previously identified by the plaintiff that the defendant reasonably believes the plaintiff can file, the defendant shall meet and confer with the plaintiff to discuss why the defendant believes the plaintiff has an additional asbestos trust claim, and thereafter the defendant may move the court for an order to require the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim. The defendant shall produce or describe the documentation it possesses or is aware of in support of the motion.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-34-606

  • Asbestos: means chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, asbestiform winchite, asbestiform richterite, asbestiform amphibole minerals, and any of these minerals that have been chemically treated or altered, including all minerals defined as asbestos in 29 CFR 1910 at the time the asbestos action is filed. See Tennessee Code 29-34-602
  • Asbestos action: means a claim for damages or other civil or equitable relief presented in a civil action arising out of, based on or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos, including loss of consortium, wrongful death, mental or emotional injury, risk or fear of disease or other injury, costs of medical monitoring or surveillance and any other derivative claim made by or on behalf of a person exposed to asbestos or a representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that person. See Tennessee Code 29-34-602
  • Asbestos trust: means a government-approved or court-approved trust, qualified settlement fund, compensation fund, or claims facility created as a result of an administrative or legal action, a court-approved bankruptcy, or pursuant to 11 U. See Tennessee Code 29-34-602
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Plaintiff: means a person asserting an asbestos action, a decedent if the action is brought through or on behalf of an estate, or a parent or guardian if the action is brought through or on behalf of a minor or an incompetent person. See Tennessee Code 29-34-602
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Trust claims materials: means a final executed proof of claim and all other documents and information related to a claim against an asbestos trust, including claims forms and supplementary materials, affidavits, depositions and trial testimony, work history, medical and health records, documents reflecting the status of a claim against an asbestos trust, and if the asbestos trust claim has settled, all documents relating to the settlement of the asbestos trust claim. See Tennessee Code 29-34-602
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Within ten (10) days of receiving the defendant’s motion pursuant to subsection (a), the plaintiff shall, for each asbestos trust claim identified by the defendant, make one (1) of the following responses:

(1) File the asbestos trust claim;
(2) File a written response with the court setting forth the reasons why there is insufficient evidence for the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim; or
(3) File a written response with the court requesting a determination that the plaintiff’s expenses or attorney’s fees and expenses to prepare and file the asbestos trust claim identified in the defendant’s motion exceed the plaintiff’s reasonably anticipated recovery from the trust.
(c)

(1) If the court determines that there is a sufficient basis for the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim identified by a defendant, the court shall order the plaintiff to file the asbestos trust claim and shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files the asbestos trust claim and provides all parties with all trust claims materials no later than thirty (30) days before trial.
(2) If the court determines that the plaintiff’s expenses or attorney’s fees and expenses to prepare and file the asbestos trust claim identified in the defendant’s motion exceed the plaintiff’s reasonably anticipated recovery from the asbestos trust, the court shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files with the court and provides all parties with a verified statement of the plaintiff’s history of exposure, usage, or other connection to asbestos covered by the asbestos trust.
(d) Not less than thirty (30) days prior to trial in an asbestos action, the court shall enter into the record a trust claims document that identifies each claim the plaintiff has made against an asbestos trust.
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