Document EqmDQQ6y0baZkbBjnGj8mEZg0

Asbestos Defendant Profile Page CBE-1 Cooper Industries Ltd. Cooper Industries Ltd. (NYSE: CBE) 600 Travis, Ste. 5800 Houston, TX 77002 Phone: 713-209-8400 Fax: 713-209-8995 Web site: http://www.cooperindustries.com Employees: 30,500 Revenue: $ 4,209,500,000 Net Income: $ 231,300,000 Assets: $ 4,611,400,000 Liabilities: $ 2,588,200,000 No. of Asbestos Claims: 81,099 Insurance Recoveries: $216,600,000 (For the year ended December 31,2002) Business Description: Cooper makes electrical products, tools, hardware, and metal support products. The company's electrical products (more than 80% of sales) include electrical and circuit-protection devices, residential and industrial lighting, and electrical power and distribution products for use by utility companies. Cooper's tool offerings include such venerable brands as Crescent wrenches and pliers. Apex impact sockets. Plumb hammers, and Weller wielding supplies. Cooper's metal support products (B-Line) include conduits and cable trays. Asbestos Discussion from SEC filings: From the Company's Form 10-K for the period ending December 31,2002 at http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1141982/000095012903001049/h03060el0vk.txt Filed On: February 26,2003 In October 1998, Cooper sold its Automotive Products business to Federal-Mogul Corporation ("Federal-Mogul"). These discontinued businesses (including the Abex product line obtained from PneumoAbex Corporation ("Pneumo") in 1994) were operated through subsidiary companies, and the stock of those subsidiaries was sold to Federal-Mogul pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement: dated August 17,1998 ("1998 Agreement"). In conjunction with the sale, Federal-Mogul indemnified Cooper for certain liabilities of these subsidiary companies, including liabilities related to the Abex product line and any potential liability that Cooper may have to Pneumo pursuant to a 1994 Mutual Guaranty Agreement between Cooper and Pneumo. On October 1, 2001, Federal-Mogul and several of its affiliates filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and indicated that Federal-Mogul may not honor the indemnification obligations to Cooper. As of the date of this filing, Federal-Mogul had not yet made a decision whether to reject the 1998 Agreement, which includes the indemnification to Cooper. If FederalMogul rejects the 1998 Agreement, Cooper will be relieved of its future obligations under the 1998 Agreement, including specific indemnities relating to payment of taxes and certain obligations regarding insurance for its former Automotive Products businesses. To the extent Cooper is obligated to Pneumo for any asbestosrelated claims arising from the Abex product line ("Abex Claims"), Cooper has rights, confirmed by Pneumo, to significant insurance for such claims. Based on LitigationDataSource.com SCF-ABEX-3468 Asbestos Defendant Profile Page CBE-2 information provided by representatives of Federal-Mogul and recent claims experience, from August 28, 1998 through December 31, 2002, a total of 103,133 Abex Claims were filed, of which 31,991 claims have been resolved leaving 71,142 Abex Claims pending at December 31, 2002, that are the responsibility of Federal-Mogul. During the year ended December 31, 2002, 21,791 claims were filed and 14,901 claims were resolved. In addition, during the third quarter of 2002, the Company completed the transition of case administration to a new national counsel and record keeping system, as well as an audit of information received from Federal-Mogul. As a result of the audit, the number of claims received was adjusted by 6,190 and the number of claims resolved was adjusted by 116 to reflect claims and settlements that should have been included in Federal-Mogul's pre- October 2001 records. Since August 28,1998, the average indemnity payment for resolved Abex Claims was $1,137 before insurance. A total of $38.4 million was spent on defense costs for the period August 28, 1998 through December 31, 2002. Historically, existing insurance coverage has provided 50% to 80% of the total defense and indemnity payments for Abex Claims. With the assistance of independent advisors, Bates White & Ballentine, LLC, Cooper completed a thorough analysis of its potential exposure for asbestos liabilities in the event Federal-Mogul rejects the 1998 Agreement. The analysis included a review of the twenty-year history of Abex Claims; the average indemnity payments for resolved claims; the jurisdictions in which claims had been filed; Bates White & Ballentine, LLC data on the incidence of asbestos exposure and diseases in various industries; existing insurance coverage including the insurance recovered by Pneumo and Federal-Mogul for pre bankruptcy claims and the contractual indemnities. Assumptions were made regarding future claim filings and indemnity payments, and, based on the advisor's data, the expected population of persons exposed to asbestos in particular industries. All of this data was used to determine a reasonable expectation of future claims, indemnity payments and insurance coverage. At this time, the manner in which this issue ultimately will be resolved is not known. Cooper is preserving its rights as a creditor for breach of Federal-Mogul's indemnification to Cooper and its rights against all Federal-Mogul subsidiaries. Cooper intends to take all actions to seek a resolution of the indemnification issues and future handling of the Abex-related claims within the Federal-Mogul bankruptcy proceedings. At December 31, 2002, the accrual for potential liabilities related to the Automotive Products sale and the FederalMogul bankruptcy was $84.3 million. Asbestos Discussion from SEC filings: From the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 at http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/24454/000095Q12902002447/h96638el0-q.txt Filed On: May 13, 2002 In October 1998, Cooper sold its Automotive Products business to Federal-Mogul Corporation ("Federal-Mogul"). These discontinued businesses (including the Abex product line obtained from Pneumo- Abex Corporation ("Pneumo") in 1994) were operated through subsidiary companies, and the stock of those subsidiaries was sold to Federal-Mogul pursuant to a Purchase LitigationDataSource.com Updated June 2,2003 Asbestos Defendant Profile Page CBE-3 and Sale Agreement dated August 17,1998 ("1998 Agreement"). In conjunction with the sale, Federal-Mogul indemnified Cooper for certain liabilities of these subsidiary companies, including liabilities related to the Abex product line and any potential liability that Cooper may have to Pneumo pursuant to a 1994 Mutual Guaranty Agreement between Cooper and Pneumo. On October 1, 2001, Federal-Mogul and several of its affiliates filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and indicated that Federal-Mogul may not honor the indemnification obligations to Cooper. As of the date of this filing, Federal-Mogul had not yet made a decision whether to reject the 1998 Agreement, which includes the indemnification to Cooper. If Federal- Mogul rejects the 1998 Agreement, Cooper will be relieved of its future obligations under the 1998 Agreement, including specific indemnities relating to payment of taxes and certain obligations regarding insurance for its former Automotive Products businesses. To the extent Cooper is obligated to Pneumo for any asbestos- related claims arising from the Abex product line ("Abex Claims"), Cooper has rights, confirmed by Pneumo, to significant insurance for such claims. Based on information provided by representatives of Federal-Mogul and recent claims experience, from August 28, 1998 through March 31, 2002, a total of 79,329 Abex Claims were filed, of which 17,239 claims have been resolved leaving 62,090 Abex Claims pending at March 31, 2002, that are the responsibility of Federal-Mogul. During the three months ended March 31, 2002, 4,177 claims were filed and 265 claims were resolved. Since August 28,1998, the average indemnity payment for resolved Abex Claims was $965 before insurance. A total of $27.5 million was spent on defense costs for the period August 28, 1998 through March 31, 2002. Historically, existing insurance coverage has provided 50% to 80% of the total defense and indemnity payments for Abex Claims. Cooper completed a thorough analysis of its potential exposure for asbestos liabilities in the event Federal-Mogul rejects the 1998 Agreement. The analysis included a review of the Abex Claims history, existing insurance coverage, the contractual indemnities and other facts determined to date. At this time, the manner in which this issue ultimately will be resolved is hot known. Cooper is preserving its rights as a creditor for breach of Federal-Mogul's indemnification to Cooper and its rights against all Federal-Mogul subsidiaries. Cooper intends to take all actions to seek a resolution of the indemnification issues and future handling of the Abex-related claims within the Federal-Mogul bankruptcy proceedings. At March 31, 2002, Cooper had a 100 million accrual for potential liabilities related to the Federal-Mogul bankruptcy. Asbestos Discussion from SEC filings: From the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,2001 at http:// www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/24454/000095012901504062/h92289el0-q.txt Filed On: November 14,2001 In October 1998, Cooper sold its Automotive Products businesses to Federal-Mogul Corporation ("Federal-Mogul"). These discontinued businesses (including the Abex product line obtained from Pneumo-Abex Corporation ("Pneumo") in 1994) were operated through subsidiary LitigationDataSource.com Updated June 2,2003 Asbestos Defendant Profile companies, and the stock of those subsidiaries was sold to Federal-Mogul. In conjunction with the sale, Federal-Mogul indemnified Cooper for certain liabilities of these subsidiary companies, including liabilities related to the Abex product line. On October 1, 2001, Federal-Mogul and several of its affiliates filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and indicated that Federal-Mogul may not honor the indemnification to Cooper, although a final decision has not yet been made. To the extent Cooper is obligated to Pneumo for any asbestos-related claims arising from the Abex product line. Cooper has rights, recently confirmed by Pneumo, to significant insurance for such claims. Historically, such insurance has provided 50% to 80% of the total defense and indemnity payments for the Abex claims. Based on Cooper's review of past and pending Abex claims, available insurance and other facts determined to date. Cooper Page CBE-4 does not believe that the potential net financial impact for the Abex-related exposure is material to Cooper. Cooper is continuing to examine this issue, including the commissioning of independent analyses of the potential exposure, and is preserving its rights as a creditor for breach of FederalMogul's indemnification to Cooper and its rights against all Federal-Mogul affiliates. Statements above concerning Abex-related liabilities may contain forward-looking information, and actual results may differ materially. The potential net financial impact for Abex-related exposure is subject to various factors and assumptions including the ultimate number and amount of Abex claims, the amount of insurance recoveries, the amount of Abex-related liabilities that will be satisfied through Federal-Mogul's bankruptcy proceedings and the treatment of Cooper's rights as a creditor in such bankruptcy proceedings Asbestos-Related News: Expects Further Liability Costs for Ended Businesses (Published September 20, 20021 LitigationDataSource.com Updated June 2, 2003