After Nine Years, Client M & F Worldwide Finally Settles with Cooper

Paul, Weiss client M & F Worldwide Corp. (MFW) and certain of its affiliates consummated the closing of a transaction with Cooper Industries plc and certain of its affiliates, settling a pending law suit in the New York Supreme Court. The suit between the parties involved, among other things, Cooper's obligation to indemnify Pneumo Abex LLC, a subsidiary of MFW, for certain asbestos-related liabilities assumed by a prior affiliate of Cooper in an acquisition of assets from Pneumo Abex's predecessor in 1994.

After three prior failed attempts to resolve their disputes over a period of nine years, the parties settled by executing a transaction through which MFW transferred ownership of Pneumo Abex to a newly formed qualified settlement trust, and Cooper liquidated its indemnity obligation for a total of $307.5 million paid into the trust over the next four years. The trust will hold such assets to be used in defense and settlement of future asbestos claims against Pneumo Abex, which, moving forward, will be managed day-to-day by a management company. The closing was conditioned on, among other things, receipt of a private letter ruling from the IRS.

The multidisciplinary Paul, Weiss team working on the transaction was led by bankruptcy partner Stephen J. Shimshak; M&A partners Angelo Bonvino and Kenneth M. Schneider; personal representation partner Alan S. Halperin; tax partner Jeffrey B. Samuels and counsel Alyssa F. Wolpin; and financing partner Valerie E. Radwaner. The pending litigation that was settled had been led by litigation partners Lewis R. Clayton and Daniel J. Leffell.