Maryland's highest court says an asbestos award should only be reduced to reflect prior settlements with bankrupt companies if those companies admitted liability. Scapa Dryer Fabrics wanted a $1,684,415 verdict in favor of Carl Saville reduced, and the Maryland Court of Appeals complied - to an extent - in its March 23 opinion. Companies that have gone through bankruptcy but are frequent defendants in asbestos lawsuits have set up trusts to pay claimants.

"The substance of the settlement agreements between Mr. Saville and any and all (bankruptcy) trusts will determine the amount of the reduction of the judgment," Judge Clayton Greene wrote. We... direct that on remand to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, the court should: 1 permit discovery for all settlement agreements between Mr. Saville and (bankruptcy) trusts; (2) and reduce the judgment... noting that denials of liability with no provisions for treatment of the trust as a joint tortfeasor will result in no offset for that particular trust...