Page 19 - A Practical Guide to Chapter11 Bankruptcy Publication Notice

Comprehensive Media Plan – the Babcock & Wilcox Example Notice for Unmanifested Claims – the Energy Future Holdings Corp. Example

At the height of the mounting asbestos-related resided. Notice exposure through earned media, Recently, debtors for In re: Energy Future Holdings The publication notice also directed readers to the
bankruptcy cases in the early 2000s, In re Babcock which involved a public service announcement Corp. took a new approach to handling ongoing Asbestos Bar Date website to view a list of power
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& Wilcox was an example of a multi-million dollar program, a managed news article campaign asbestos liability with the decision to expand plants at which potential asbestos claimants,
notice plan to notify creditors of the company’s and an internet banner effort further enhanced the bar date notice beyond potential asbestos including a family member, may have been
bankruptcy. The initial Babcock & Wilcox plan was exposure. claimants with manifested injuries, and include exposed to asbestos in the past. This simplified the
only targeted to potential asbestos claimants who those with unmanifested injuries. As one of the process by which such asbestos claimants with
had already manifested an injury. Future claims The Notice Plan reached more than 94 percent first settlements of its kind, a unique notice plan unmanifested asbestos claims may self-identify.
where asbestos injury had not yet manifested were of the core claimant demographic in the United was developed to ensure those with unmanifested
not barred. Still, the Babcock & Wilcox notice effort States, on average more than five times each. asbestos claims were specifically targeted in The comprehensive notice effort included
is a good example of what an asbestos liability The reach and frequency levels achieved by the addition to other potential asbestos claimants. One individual notice and a media campaign with
media effort can look like. Babcock & Wilcox notice plan far surpassed those particular focus was an extensive analysis of the a publication notice that was published in a
achieved in typical bankruptcy bar date notice debtors’ plant locations in order to identify local variety of print media with national and local
Prior to commencing bankruptcy, a large number programs where tort claims were not involved, newspapers and properly geo-target media to circulation throughout the United States. The
of claimants had already asserted claims against and also surpassed most nationwide class action maximize the effectiveness of the notice effort. notice campaign was designed to specifically
the company, which made direct notice a viable notice efforts. This type of high reach media plan target men’s publications and magazines, aimed
option for known claimants (where addresses has become the norm in asbestos bankruptcy In addition to determining the best method at older demographic segments to reflect the
were reasonably available) and their attorneys notice efforts. of notice to notify potential claimants, there target audiences. The plan as implemented
known. The legal notice campaign was extensive was a concerted effort to draft a publication provided notice via the largest circulated national
and encompassed a comprehensive schedule In approving the notice plan, the court specifically notice with clear, plain language to specifically newspaper supplement, inserted in hundreds of
of paid notices which appeared on national observed the effectiveness and high reach target holders of unmanifested asbestos claims. newspapers nationwide, six national consumer
television, in well-read national magazines, and in provided by the Notice Plan, as well as the Since the publication notice targeted workers, publications, three of the largest national
more than 900 Sunday newspapers in large cities average frequency of notice exposure, which contractors and related family members who may newspapers, 223 local newspapers across various
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and small towns in every market of every state it held satisfied due process. Additionally, the have worked at a plant decades ago, the headline states surrounding relevant power plants and
in the United States. In addition, notices were notice which ran in various print publications was broadly addressed: Power Plant Employees and other facilities related to the Debtors or their
placed in newspapers in a handful of countries drafted with plain language best practices and Contractors - if you or a family member ever predecessors, 43 Spanish newspapers and eleven
outside the United States where claimants likely appeared as full-page ad unit sizes or equivalent. worked at a power plant, you could have been union labor publications.
exposed to asbestos. The large, bold headline
of the publication notice also stated, “To keep Beyond the publication notice, an internet banner
your right to compensation if you become ill notice was displayed on five web properties that
The Notice Plan reached more than 94 percent of the core in the future (or have asbestos-related illness either focused on the target audience or broad-
claimant demographic in the United States, on average more today), you must submit a claim by December 14, reaching national ad networks and websites,
than five times each. 2015, at 5:00 p.m., prevailing Eastern Time.” The including the largest social media platform in
publication notice specifically indicated that “[a] the United States, which combined, generated
sbestos-related illness can occur decades and approximately 539 million impressions. A national
even 50 years after the exposure to asbestos that informational release was issued to approximately
caused the illness,” and that “[e]ven if you have 4,200 print and broadcast and 5,500 online press
not been diagnosed with disease or experienced outlets throughout the United States. Sponsored
symptoms, you must make a claim to preserve search listings were also acquired on the three
your right to compensation if you develop an most highly-visited internet search engines:
asbestos-related illness in the future.” Google, Yahoo! and Bing, to facilitate locating the

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