Johns-Manville knew asbestos killed — hid it for 50 years, 16,500 suits, then Ch.11

Johns-Manville was founded in 1858 by Henry Ward Johns in New York as H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company, producing asbestos-based roofing and insulation. In 1901 it merged with Charles Manville's competing firm to become H.W. Johns-Manville Company. By the mid-20th century it was the largest asbestos manufacturer in the United States, producing asbestos pipe insulation, roofing, cement pipe, and fireproofing materials used in millions of buildings, ships, and factories. Its products made it one of the most successful industrial companies in America.

But Johns-Manville knew the truth almost from the start. As early as 1929, employees filed disability claims for lung disease. In 1943, the Saranac Laboratory confirmed a direct link between asbestos exposure and cancer. Johns-Manville suppressed the report and never warned its workers or customers. It maintained a deliberate policy of not telling employees their X-rays showed asbestosis — leaving them to work with the lethal fiber until they died. Internal documents later revealed a systematic cover-up led by company lawyer Vandiver Brown.

By 1982, 16,500 personal injury lawsuits were pending. In June 1982, James Cavett won a $2.3M compensatory and $1.5M punitive verdict. Two months later, Johns-Manville filed Ch.11 — the largest US bankruptcy at the time. The company emerged in 1988 as Manville Corporation, transferring most equity to the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust. The trust, funded with ~$2.5B in stock and insurance proceeds, has paid hundreds of thousands of claims but repeatedly cut payout percentages. Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company in 2001. The trust still operates today.