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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
Current Report
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 1, 1997
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Pennsylvania 1-2116 23-0366390
(State or other jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of incorporation) File Number) Identification Number)
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313 West Liberty Street, P.O. Box 3001, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604
(Address of principal executive offices) (ZIP Code)
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Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (717) 397-0611
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Item 5. Other Events.
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On June 25, 1997, the United States Supreme Court, in the case of Amchen
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Products, Inc., et al., v. George Windsor, et al., affirmed a ruling by a
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three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that decertified a class
action for settlement purposes only involving future claims against
manufacturers of asbestos-related products. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. is
one of twenty companies who formed the Center for Claims Resolution (the "CCR")
to resolve asbestos-related personal injury claims and is a defendant in many
asbestos-related claims. The nationwide class action settlement agreement that
the CCR entered into and which was at issue in Amchen, would have resolved
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asbestos personal injury claims through a court-approved administrative process.
Following the issuance of the Supreme Court's decision, the CCR issued the press
release attached hereto as Exhibit 99.01 and is incorporated herein by
reference.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
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(c) Exhibits.
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Exhibit No. Description Reference
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99.01 Press Release (June 25, 1997) Filed herewith
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES, INC.
Dated: July 1, 1997 By: /s/ L.A. Pulkrabek
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L. A. Pulkrabek
Senior Vice President, Secretary
and General Counsel
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Exhibit Index
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Sequential Page No. or
Exhibit No. Description Reference
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99.01 Press Release (June 25, 1997) Filed herewith at page 5
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Exhibit 99.01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Larry Fitzpatrick
609/951-6006
Carolyn Tieger
202/955-6200
U.S. Supreme Court Fails to Preserve Model Asbestos Settlement
Washington, D.C., June 25, 1997 -- Supporters of a $1.3 billion pioneering
asbestos class action settlement agreement vowed to continue their efforts to
resolve the national asbestos litigation crisis, despite today's U.S. Supreme
Court decision to preserve an adverse appellate court ruling in Amchem Products
vs. Windsor, more commonly known as Georgine, a precedent-setting asbestos class
action settlement agreement that had been approved by the District Court and
lauded as a model for tort reform.
"We are, of course, disappointed that the Supreme Court did not choose to
preserve the Georgine settlement, however, we remain determined to resolve the
asbestos litigation nightmare and to help alleviate the backlog of individual
claims that are clogging the nation's courts," said Larry Fitzpatrick, president
and chief executive officer of the Center for Claims Resolution (CCR), a group
of 20 defendant companies that petitioned the court to hear Georgine.
Approved by a U.S. District Court in 1994, Georgine was overturned in May
1996 by a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which held
that a class could not be certified for settlement purposes only. Shortly
thereafter, in stark contrast to the Third Circuit decision, the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled that a similar settlement involving future claims against
Fibreboard Corp. (Flanagan v. Ahearn) could in fact be certified for settlement
purposes alone.
The CCR plans continue its efforts to find a means of preserving the
essential tenets of the agreement through alternative channels, Fitzpatrick
said.
Georgine, a nationwide agreement between the 20 CCR member companies and
court-appointed leaders of the asbestos plaintiffs' bar, would have resolved
asbestos personal injury claims through a court-approved administrative process
and, ultimately, brought more than 20 years of asbestos litigation to an end.
In fact the Third Circuit itself called Georgine, which had the support of
organized labor, "arguably a brilliant partial solution to the scourge of
asbestos that has heretofore defied global management in any venue."
Originally filed in January 1993, Georgine met several legal benchmarks
along the way, including fairness tests and a court-approved, three-month
national notification campaign that reached millions of Americans.
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The Center for Claims Resolution was formed in 1988 to provide an
efficient, economical alternative to traditional tort defense. In its nine
years of operation, CCR has successfully resolved more than 180,000 claims.
CCR members include Amchem Products, Inc., A.P. Green Industries, Inc.,
Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Asbestos Claims Management Corporation
(formerly National Gypsum Co.), CertainTeed Corp., C.E. Thurston & Sons, Inc.,
Dana Corp., Flexitallic, Inc., GAF Corp., I.U. North America, Inc., Maremont
Corp., National Service Industries, Inc., Nosroc Corp., Ferodo America, Inc.
(formerly Nuturn Corp.), Pfizer Inc., Quigley Company, Inc., Shook & Fletcher
Insulation Co., T&N plc, Union Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company, Inc., and
United States Gypsum Co.
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