In re Dow Corning Corp.

Dow Corning (debtor), facing tens of thousands of injury claims over its silicone breast implants, filed bankruptcy after a federal settlement class saw thousands of plaintiffs opt out to pursue individual claims, triggering an automatic stay on claims against Dow Corning itself while similar claims against its non-debtor parent companies remained unstayed; Dow Corning moved to remove and consolidate all pending federal and state claims against both itself and its parent companies into a single district court to help ensure a feasible reorganization plan. The district court found jurisdiction over the Dow Corning claims under section 1334(b) but concluded it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the claims against the non-debtor parent companies, and Dow Corning appealed.