(1) The Legislature finds and determines that: Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used for insulation, fireproofing, and other purposes;
(2) Exposure to asbestos has been causally associated with mesothelioma and lung cancer, as well as nonmalignant conditions such as asbestosis, pleural plaques, and diffuse pleural thickening;
(3) Approximately one hundred (100) employers have declared bankruptcy at least partially due to asbestos-related liability;
(4) Over ten thousand (10,000) companies have been named as asbestos defendants, including many small- and medium-sized companies, in industries that cover eighty-five percent (85%) of the United States economy;
(5) Scores of trusts have been established in asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings to form a multibillion dollar asbestos bankruptcy trust compensation system outside of the tort system, and new asbestos trusts continue to be established;
(6) Asbestos plaintiffs often seek compensation both from solvent defendants in civil actions and from trusts or claims facilities formed in asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings;
(7) There is limited coordination and transparency between these two (2) paths to recovery, which has resulted in the suppression of evidence in asbestos actions; and
(8) Justice is promoted by transparency with respect to asbestos bankruptcy trust claims in civil asbestos actions.
(9) Now, therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to: Provide transparency with respect to asbestos bankruptcy trust claims in civil asbestos actions by creating a substantive right for defendants to obtain bankruptcy trust discovery;
(10) Reduce the opportunity for oversight or suppression of evidence in asbestos actions; and
(11) Enhance the ability of courts to oversee and manage asbestos cases.