Category: NARCO

NARCO Trust – DCPF Transition and Data Accessibility

As previously noticed, effective January 1, 2026, the North American Refractories Company Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust (the “NARCO Trust”) will transition its claims processing to the Delaware Claims Processing Facility (“DCPF”). While all NARCO Trust data will be transferred to the DCPF, after that transfer certain data will no longer be accessible to law firm users. This notice explains what data will no longer be accessible and what law firms can do to preserve any data prior to the transition. 

Pre-Established Liquidated Claims (“PEL”) – This term refers to any submission with a Claim Election of Pre-Established Liquidated or PEL. Pre-Established Liquidated claims WILL NOT be loaded into DCPF’s Trust Online system (“Trust Online”) and therefore will not be accessible to law firms after December 31, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET.  Any questions related to PEL submissions should be directed to Trust Counsel, Heather Panko at panko@sbep-law.com.

Filings – This term refers to any submission designated with the “FLN” type other than PEL claims addressed above in the CRMC eClaims system (“eClaims”). These FLN records have not been submitted to the NARCO Trust and are not claims. 

The data for FLNs that fall into the two categories below WILL NOT be loaded into Trust Online, and therefore will not be accessible to law firms after December 31, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET: 

1. Deleted FLNs: These are FLNs that have been deleted by the law firm and have a “DELETED” status in eClaims.
2. Inactive FLNs: These are FLNs added to eClaims before January 1, 2025, that have not been edited or updated on or after January 1, 2025.  See the Detail Tab in eClaims to determine the Claim Type (“FLN”) and the History tab for key dates such as when the FLN was added to eClaims and when updates occurred. 

If you have a PEL submission or a Filing(s)/FLN(s) that falls into one of the above categories and you wish to obtain a copy of the data associated with the PEL or FLN from eClaims, you must log into eClaims and download the information by December 31, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET. 

To be clear, the NARCO Trust is not deleting or destroying any PEL or Filing(s)/FLN(s) information. All NARCO Trust data will be transferred to DCPF.  However, the information for the above categories of PEL submissions and Filings/FLNs will not be accessible through Trust Online. 

On December 31, 2024, the Honorable Ken M. Kawaichi, Ret.’s term as a Trustee of the NARCO Trust ended.  Effective as of February 28, 2025, LeAnne Jackson was appointed to serve as successor Trustee for a three-year term.

Dear Counsel:

The Trustees of the NARCO Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust (the “Trust”) write to inform you that the Trust has retained Alvarez & Marsal to conduct the Trust’s claims audit program (“Claims Audit Program”) as described in the Claims Audit Program document dated April 1, 2023, available  on the Trust’s website at  https://www.narcoasbestostrust.org, under “Trust Documents.”

 If you have any questions about the Trust’s Claims Audit Program, please contact Alvarez & Marsal at: NARCOclaimsaudit@alvarezandmarsal.com.

 Kind regards,

Richard B. Schiro
Mark M. Gleason
Honorable Ken M. Kawaichi, Ret.

Trustees of the NARCO Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust

eClaims has been updated to allow claims to be reviewed for exposure, medical and statute of limitations purposes and receive an offer prior to the submission of the appropriate Certificate of Capacity documentation. To the extent Certificate of Capacity documentation is required, any offer on the claim is contingent upon receipt of both the signed release and the appropriate Certificate of Capacity documentation. The claim will not be paid until the appropriate Certificate of Capacity documentation is provided. 

The NARCO Trust has revised its policy on acceptable documentation for proof of the personal representative’s official capacity for deceased claimants. The NARCO Trust will continue to accept Letters Testamentary/Letters of Administration or other proof of the personal representative’s official capacity as provided or allowed by applicable state law.  Alternatively, the NARCO Trust will now accept the submission of the Affidavit of Decedent’s Representative and the Law Firm/Attorney’s Representation Affirming Official Representative’s Authority as proof of the personal representative’s official capacity.  To be clear, submitting one form and not the other form will not be sufficient – both forms must be submitted to satisfy the requirement.  The forms for the Affidavit of Decedent’s Representative and the Law Firm/Attorney’s Representation Affirming Official Representative’s Authority can be found on the NARCO Trust’s Documents Page.

A notice was posted regarding the average and maximum values.  [Please see the NARCO Trust’s Documents Page for the current values.]

The NARCO Trust has revised its releases to include a certification regarding the payment and/or resolution of certain Medicare related obligations. These revisions are made in accordance with the Amended Buyout Agreement approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on December 8, 2022. Please see the NARCO Trust’s Documents Page for the revised releases. The revised releases apply to all releases received after January 30, 2023.

Notice of NARCO Buyout Agreement Closing – January 30, 2023