Asbestos tort reform clears House

The change is meant to keep attorneys from double-dipping, supporters said, by winning a claim against an employer then turning around and receiving damages from the trust as well. Opponents said the new step represents a burden for people dying quickly from an aggressive cancer tied to asbestos exposure and that it seeks to address a problem not evident in North Carolina.

The argument seems to be, "there's a scam somewhere, in some state, at some time," state Rep. Robert Reives, D-Chatham, said during the floor debate.

"SB 470 will help the injured receive the money they are owed faster, get juries the information they need to conduct fair trials & eliminate egregious abuses in our legal system," the chamber tweeted Wednesday.

The House vote was 78-30. The bill had bipartisan support, but all 30 votes against it came from Democrats. It cleared the House in a different form than it did the state Senate and heads back to that chamber for final approval before going to Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature or veto.

Under federal law, people who have mesothelioma, an untreatable, incurable cancer caused by asbestos exposure, can file claims with various bankruptcy trust funds that were set up by now-insolvent companies that made asbestos products decades ago. Years of litigation have depleted these funds to the point where they now pay pennies on the dollar, experts said last year as the bill was debated in committee.

The bill requires victims to research and file claims with all potentially liable trust funds within the first 30 days of a civil suit against an existing company, then provide information about any awards to the defendant.

That could lower the amount a jury awards in the lawsuit.