Judge Plans to Consolidate All Manville Suits : Litigation: The order is designed to relieve state and federal courts across the nation of a staggering backlog of asbestos cases.

A federal judge Thursday approved a plan meant to speed payment to asbestos victims by consolidating tens of thousands of lawsuits involving Manville Corp. into a single class action.

Ordered by U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein in Brooklyn, the plan is designed to partially relieve state and federal courts throughout the country of a staggering backlog of asbestos cases.

The plan revises the way claims have been paid and, for the first time, gives priority to victims with the most serious illnesses.

The settlement plan was first disclosed in November. Approval had been expected, although Weinstein held a series of “fairness hearings” in four U.S. cities in which many lawyers strongly objected.

The plan also slashes attorneys’ fees and clears the way for a previously announced infusion of up to $520 million into the Manville Personal Injury Trust to pay victims. The trust last year had nearly run out of money.

Lawyers involved in the case said, however, that the judge’s order is almost certain to be appealed. The appeals process is expected to last at least until early next year. The plan won’t go into effect until appeals are completed.

The innovative class-action plan was approved by Weinstein in response to the escalating number of claims against the trust, vastly more than lawyers originally anticipated. A spokeswoman for the trust said the number of claims totals more than 175,000 and is growing rapidly.

The cases involving Manville, although the largest single group, make up only one portion of the asbestos injury lawsuits clogging the nation’s courts. Until now, Manville and other asbestos cases have been tried individually or in small groups of cases in which the facts were nearly identical.

In a 500-page order, Weinstein said he approved the plan “with some reservations.” He said a better distribution scheme that would have further reduced legal and administrative costs, giving more money to victims, probably could have been devised.

But, he said, “given the institutional and other inhibitions on a wholly new plan created by the courts, what has been proposed must be approved as practicable and fair.”

Asbestos is a white, fibrous mineral that was widely used in fireproofing and insulation. But inhalation of even tiny quantities was found to cause serious diseases, including lung cancer and asbestosis. Estimating the number of claims likely to be filed has been difficult because the disease symptoms generally don’t show up until many years after exposure.

In 1982, Manville, then called Johns-Manville, filed for bankruptcy protection because of the huge number of asbestos lawsuits it faced. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1988 under a plan that established the independent trust, which was given a significant share of Manville’s stock and profits to pay victims.

But in 1990, the trust had used up almost all of its cash paying the first group of claims filed, leaving nothing for the great majority of victims.

Weinstein’s plan is meant to cut legal fees to victims’ lawyers to no more than 25% of what the victim is awarded. Weinstein also ordered the Washington-based trust to sharply cut its expenses.