In Appreciation of Jack Burns

Jacob Burns was a good and gentle man. He did many fine and generous things in his lifetime, but the qualities that best describe him are the personal ones-good and gentle. The gentleness did not mean that he was unable to handle difficult matters or to exert the kind of strength that gave others solace. It meant that through these situations there was a contentment that always reassured the rest of us. The gentleness came from his concern for others and in the way he approached people. It was always thrilling for me to see Jack Burns in the company of others-particularly our students. He had such hope for them and he always encouraged them to do well, and to do good at the same time. Each year, at a luncheon we had with the Burns Fellows, he would listen lovingly to the things that the students told him they were doing. And he would counsel them wisely. It was always a wonderful day for me

The Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust: Lessons for the Future

I will outline the story of the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust. While reading this tale, I urge the reader to ask the following questions: Was the Trust procedure effective? Could other procedures have better resolved the difficulties faced by asbestos victims? Could these other procedures fit into the legal framework, or does equity demand that a workable solution fall outside the legal structure? Could the system developed for the Trust be adapted for future mass torts, or did it simply result from compromises that would not have occurred save for the fact that there was no bottomless pit of resources? Should corporations and courts develop better mechanisms for quickly and efficiently organizing mass tort cases? What rules could and should be developed to serve more expeditiously the victims at a lower cost? Should the Johns-Manville Corporation simply have been denied the protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and been left to the plaintiffs\u27 bar-which would have resulted in recovery only for those fortunate enough to recognize and seek redress for their illness early, and leave those who did not yet know they were sick or others who had no counsel without any effective judicial remedy? In reviewing these questions, the reader should note that, in this story of the Trust, the costs and delays involved are given great importance. Both lawyers and lay persons understand that personal injury litigation is costly. But it is generally presumed that in remedying tort actions, the cost and timing of the process are not material legal issues. Cost and timing are business decisions made by the parties. Deliberativeness is a hallmark of our judicial process. But, as a Trustee who desires to pay money to thousands of injured people, principles of fiduciary responsibility demand that I-and future Trustees of mass tort trusts-address the costs of and delays in paying innocent victims through the established judicial mechanisms. If there is a lesson in the experience of the Manville Trust, it is that the costs and delays must be considered. Once these costs are considered, principles of tort liability may be forced to yield to economic realities