Georgine v. Amchem Products, Inc.

Georgine and tens of thousands of others (plaintiffs) sued Amchem and other asbestos manufacturers (defendants), whose claims were consolidated for coordinated pretrial proceedings, and Class Counsel negotiated an extensive global settlement with the defendants' claims-resolution group covering both present litigants and future asbestos claimants, requiring counsel to advise future clients the settlement terms would bind them. Some class members challenged the settlement's fairness, arguing Class Counsel's simultaneous representation of present and future claimants created an impermissible conflict of interest since future claimants' individual circumstances weren't specifically assessed.