Johns Manville

The Johns Manville Corporation was once a major manufacturer of asbestos products. With a long history of hiding the risks of asbestos, Johns Manville has faced thousands of costly asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits. Today, the company is a leader in engineering materials, roofing products, and insulation, but its past asbestos use harmed many workers.

If you or a loved one were diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis, you might be entitled to substantial compensation. We invite you to fill out our form today for a free Financial Compensation Packet, filled with information about experienced mesothelioma lawyers in your area, how to get paid in 90 days, how to file an asbestos trust fund claim, and much more. 

Did Johns Manville Use Asbestos?

Johns Manville was involved in industries that used asbestos heavily. Many companies used asbestos as insulation, especially in the construction industry. Johns Manville used asbestos in many products for decades, especially in insulation and other construction materials.

Johns Manville History

Johns Manville traces its roots back to 1858 when 24-year-old Henry Ward Johns created the H. W. Johns Manufacturing Company to make and sell roofing shingles.

• Shortly after the founding of H.W. Johns Manufacturing, the company merged with C.B. Manville’s Manville Covering Company.

• With the merger of the companies, the H. W. Johns-Manville Company was created in 1901, and in 1926, the name officially changed to the Johns-Manville Corporation.

• In 1927, the company went public and focused on manufacturing fire-resistant roofing and insulation materials.

• During the late 1930s, the company began manufacturing and distributing products to help with World War II, including asbestos-containing insulation for U.S. Navy ships.

• In addition to roofing and insulation, Johns-Manville manufactured and sold asbestos cement pipes, PVC pipes, and fiberglass products. It also briefly operated asbestos mines in Quebec.

• Quebec asbestos miners complained about the dangers of asbestos dust as early as the 1940s. They went on strike in 1949 to protest unsafe working conditions.

• By the 1980s, Johns Manville faced thousands of asbestos-related claims and lawsuits. They were brought by employees, contractors, and consumers who began developing life-threatening diseases.

• The first record of an asbestos-related case against the company started much earlier when employees filed a lawsuit against Johns Manville in the 1920s.

• Johns Manville became the first company to file for bankruptcy over asbestos claims and costs. It filed in 1982, reorganized, and created the Manville Trust to compensate victims.

Johns Manville is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and makes insulation without asbestos.

Johns Manville Asbestos Lawsuits and Bankruptcy

In 1929, eleven employees filed a negligence lawsuit against Johns Manville. According to court documents, the plaintiffs filed the suit after claiming Johns Manville failed to provide adequate safety to employees during work, including the failure to ventilate facilities and the failure to provide proper safety masks.

The case was eventually settled a few years later for $30,000, but it began an onslaught of lawsuits to come.

In 1935, Johns Manville faced another asbestos-related lawsuit brought by 20 former employees. Court documents state that the employees who worked at the Waukegan, Illinois, plant were exposed to harmful working conditions.

The lawsuit was thrown out under Illinois law, which at the time stated employees didn’t have the right to file such claims for workers’ compensation.

Another case against Johns Manville proved to be a landmark. Clarence Borel worked with industrial insulation beginning in the 1930s. He was diagnosed with asbestosis in 1969 and became too sick to work.

Borel sued several companies in 1973, including Johns Manville. A jury awarded him $80,000. It was an early successful case against asbestos companies that paved the way for many more.

Asbestos-related lawsuits continue to pile up against Johns Manville throughout the next several decades. By 1982, the company, still facing around 17,000 cases, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Johns Manville Bankruptcy Trust

When Johns Manville filed for bankruptcy protection, it was one of the largest insulation providers in the world, accounting for over half of all asbestos-containing insulation across the globe.

The company also had the most asbestos-related claims against it and was one of the first businesses to file bankruptcy due to asbestos lawsuits. This set the model for future defendants of asbestos claims to follow.

Because of the Johns Manville Bankruptcy Trust, Congress enacted section 524(g) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which created a law that allows companies with large amounts of asbestos-related claims to establish trust funds to help pay all pending and future cases.

After the enactment of 524(g), hundreds of companies facing large numbers of asbestos-related claims filed for bankruptcy and established trust funds.

After Johns Manville emerged from bankruptcy, it established its trust fund in 1998. According to the official “Manville Trust” website, the trust fund is designated for all pending asbestos-related claims against the company.

Johns Manville placed a total of $2.5 billion into the trust fund when it opened. By 2012, with mounting claims, the trust had already paid out over $4 billion, well over the amount initially placed in the trust.

The Manville Trust served as an early model for other companies that filed for bankruptcy over asbestos claims. Today, the Manville Trust pays 5.1% of claims.

Occupations Affected by Johns Manville Asbestos Use

Unfortunately, consumers and workers worldwide were affected by Johns Manville’s asbestos-containing products. Employees who worked in Johns Manville factories faced very high risks of exposure and illness as they handled asbestos materials and stirred up asbestos dust.

Other people who could have been exposed to Johns Manville asbestos and are now at risk of illnesses include workers in other industries, homeowners, and residents who lived near the company’s factories.

Workers Exposed to Johns Manville Asbestos Products

Some of these occupations in which workers may have handled Johns Manville asbestos include:

• Carpenters
• Electricians
• Shipyard workers
• Boilermakers
• Military veterans
• Construction workers
• Manufacturing plant workers
• Painters
• Roofers
• Pipefitters
• Firefighters
• Carpenters
• Auto mechanics
• U.S. Navy veterans

Homeowners and Families of Asbestos Workers

Many of Johns Manville’s asbestos construction materials went into residential homes and buildings. This put residents at ongoing risk of exposure. Any renovation work or repairs in the home could stir up fibers and cause exposure.

Also at risk were family members living in the households of people who worked with or around Johns Manville asbestos products. Before they understood the dangers, workers often brought home asbestos fibers on their clothing. There are many cases of people developing mesothelioma after this kind of secondhand exposure.

Residents Near Johns Manville Factories

While workers in the factories that made asbestos products faced the highest risks of exposure, their work also affected nearby communities. Asbestos fibers were not always contained by the building, contaminated neighborhoods, and exposed residents.

One example of this was the town of Manville, New Jersey, a true factory town. Some residents developed asbestos illnesses and recalled watching asbestos “snow” in the neighborhood.

Manville residents eventually won a jury award of $90.5 million for wrongful deaths. The lawsuit involved factory workers, family members, and residents.

Which Johns Mansville Products Contained Asbestos?

Johns Manville manufactured and distributed many products that contained asbestos. These asbestos products, especially insulation, had a worldwide distribution and affected people across the globe.

Products:

• Insulation
• Roofing
• Siding
• Shingles
• Cement board
• Asbestos paper
• Felt
• Gaskets
• Packing
• Pipe insulation
• Floor tiles
• Cloth
• Wallboard

Johns Manville’s asbestos-containing products were of different brand names:

• 7M-13 Raw Asbestos Fibers
• Asbestoguard Adhesives
• Asbestotle Flashing
• Corrugated Asbestos Transite Sheets
• Fibrocel Insulation
• Glasal flex board
• Insulkote Weatherproofing
• J-M Asbestos Flexboard
• J-M Asbestos Wall Board
• J-M Building Papers and Felts
• 7M-13 Raw Asbestos Fibers
• J-M Encased Insulating Board
• J-M Insulating Cement
• J-M MariniteFireproof Sheet
• Johns-Manville Colorbestos Shingles
• Johns-Manville Rigid Asbestos Shingles
• Permastone Asbestos-Cement Flexboard
• Stonehedge Architectural Panels
• Terraflex Plastic Asbestos Floor Tile
• Thermobestos Block Insulation
• Thermobestos Cement
• Transitop Asbestos Panels
• Vitribestos Sheet
• Vulcabestos Insulation
• J-M Transite
• Johns Manville Caulking Putty
• Flexstone
• Colorbestos Siding Sheets
• J-M Builtup Roofs
• Salem Asbestos Roof Shingles

Johns Manville Hid Asbestos Risks

Many companies are liable today for past asbestos exposure because they knew of the dangers of asbestos but failed to warn or protect workers. Evidence has shown that Johns Manville was aware of the dangers of asbestos before taking any steps to mitigate the risks.

Dr. Kenneth Smith warned executives about how harmful asbestos insulation could be in the 1950s. He served as the company’s medical director and testified in 1976 that the company knew the dangers.

Metropolitan Life, Johns Manville’s insurer, was also involved in the cover-up. An employee there advised medical officers at Johns Manville not to warn workers of the risks of asbestos. The insurer also discouraged plant inspections even though it knew the workers had high rates of asbestosis.

If You Were Exposed to Johns Manville Asbestos

Contact a mesothelioma lawyer to determine your legal rights and options if you worked with Johns Manville products. Bankruptcy protects the company from ongoing lawsuits, but qualified claimants can still receive compensation through the trust.

Your lawyer can also investigate your work history to find other companies that could be held liable for your asbestos illness. You could be eligible for a lawsuit or additional trust fund claims.

Additional Resources and Information

Don’t forget to fill out our form to get our free Financial Compensation Packet, filled with information on the experienced asbestos and mesothelioma attorneys in your area. If you have questions or need assistance, contact us toll-free at 800-793-4540.