THRONEBERRY LAW GROUP
Mesothelioma & Asbestos Attorneys
TRUST PAYMENT REFERENCE
A payment reference for the Sepco Asbestos Personal Injury Trust, which pays claims for regular work with Sepco Corporation's asbestos gaskets, packing, tubing, thermal insulation for tubing and piping, and insulation blankets. Every figure below was checked against the trust's own Trust Distribution Procedures, amendment, notices, exposure guidelines, and 2026 scheduled values on October 18, 2026.
CURRENT TRUST STATUS
The Sepco asbestos trust pays 10% of a claim's scheduled value, and the trustee has proposed raising it to 12%. On July 10, 2026 the trust gave notice under TDP Section 4.3 that the trustee is reconsidering the payment percentage and that the proposed rate is 12%; as of October 18, 2026 the trust's home page still lists 10% and no adoption notice has been posted. A mesothelioma claim carries a $53,076 scheduled value for 2026, after the trust's 1% annual increase, so it pays about $5,308 at 10% and would pay about $6,369 at 12%. Sepco is a small, product-specific trust with a strict proof rule: the claimant must show regular work with named Sepco products in settings where they were ground, scraped, brushed, cut, removed, or handled in a way that released fiber, and the affidavit must say how the witness knew the product was Sepco's. Every claim needs a $50 filing fee within 60 days or it is not treated as filed.
Throneberry Law Group files Sepco claims for pipefitters, boilermakers, insulators, plant maintenance workers, and the other trades that handled gaskets, packing, and pipe insulation, and their families, across the country. This page is part of our asbestos trust funds guide, which covers every trust we file against.
PAYMENT REFERENCE
The table below is the short answer. The sections that follow explain each line.
| Current payment percentage | 10% of the scheduled value for all five disease levels (trust home page; Notice Regarding Payment Percentage dated July 10, 2026). |
|---|---|
| Proposed increase | 12%. The July 10, 2026 notice states that the trustee is reconsidering the payment percentage under TDP Section 4.3 and that the proposed rate is 12%, subject to the consent of the Trust Advisory Committee and the Future Claimants' Representative. The trust has posted no adoption notice as of October 18, 2026. When a higher rate is adopted, claimants paid at the lower rate receive supplemental payments under TDP Section 4.3. |
| Prior rates | 10% has been the rate since the trust opened on December 7, 2020; the trust's home page calls it the Initial Payment Percentage, and the trust has posted no other rate change. |
| Review cycle | The trustee must reconsider the payment percentage at least once every three years, starting the first January 1 after the Effective Date, and may change it with the consent of the TAC and the FCR (Section 4.2). |
| Inflation adjustment | Yes. The scheduled values rise 1% each year starting January 1, 2021, and the increase applies to offers made after each increase date (Section 5.3(a)(3)). The 2026 values are posted in the trust's Notice of 2026 Scheduled Values. The trust also pays a sequencing adjustment (interest-like, at the one-year Treasury bill rate capped at 2.6%) on claims that wait more than a year for payment because of delay by the trust or its processor (Section 7.5, as rewritten by the First Amendment dated August 11, 2023). |
| Mesothelioma scheduled value | $53,076 (effective January 1, 2026). The TDP's base value was $50,000. There is no Individual Review average or maximum; the Sepco TDP has no Individual Review track. |
| Mesothelioma payout at the current rate | About $5,308 ($53,076 x 10%). If the proposed 12% is adopted, about $6,369. |
| Review options | Expedited Review only, plus the Extraordinary Claim Review described below. A valid claim is paid the scheduled value for its disease level times the payment percentage (Section 5.3(a)). Disputes go to the trust's ADR procedures and, after non-binding arbitration, to the tort system. Secondary (take-home) exposure claims must show the occupationally exposed person would have met the trust's exposure rules (Section 5.4). |
| Extraordinary Claims | A claimant whose exposure occurred predominantly while working in a Sepco manufacturing facility while it made asbestos products, or was at least 75% the result of exposure to a Sepco product or conduct, with little likelihood of a substantial recovery elsewhere, can be awarded up to five times the scheduled value for the disease level, times the payment percentage (Section 5.3(a)(4)). For mesothelioma that is up to $265,380 at the 2026 value, about $26,538 at 10%. The claimant must disclose all other claims and trust filings for the same injury, and a special Extraordinary Claims Panel decides disputes. |
| Exposure requirement | Debtor Exposure: meaningful and credible exposure to asbestos, asbestos products, or conduct for which the trust is responsible (Section 5.6(b)(3)). The TDP then requires that the injured party show, to the trust's satisfaction, that he or she regularly worked with Sepco's asbestos gaskets, asbestos packing, asbestos tubing, asbestos thermal insulation for tubing or piping, or asbestos insulation blankets in settings where those products were ground, scraped, brushed, cut, removed, or physically manipulated so as to release fiber. Under the trust's Exposure and Product Identification Guidelines (November 12, 2021), a product identification affidavit must give a foundation, based on personal knowledge, for how the witness knew the product was Sepco's, such as what was printed on the box, packaging, or product, or sales records; the trust weighs the foundation case by case and considers whether the injured person is deceased and the limited Sepco sales records that exist. Mesothelioma needs Debtor Exposure only; the other four levels need six months of Debtor Exposure plus Significant Occupational Exposure (five cumulative years in an asbestos trade). The TDP sets no exposure cutoff date. |
| Filing deadline | Anyone first diagnosed after January 14, 2016 (the Petition Date) may file within three years after diagnosis or by June 7, 2024, whichever is later, regardless of any state statute of limitations (Section 5.1(a)(2); Claims Filing Deadlines letter dated February 5, 2024). Claims diagnosed before January 14, 2016 were timely only if they were pending, tolled, or still within the statute of limitations on the Petition Date and were filed by June 7, 2024. |
| Fees and withdrawal rules | $50 filing fee on every claim (TDP Section 6.4; Notice of Claim Filing Requirements and Fee), refunded in full to a claimant who accepts and is paid a settlement offer. A claim is not deemed filed until the fee arrives, is held on administrative hold without it, cannot be deferred until it is paid, and is rejected with no tolling of the statute of limitations if the fee is not received within 60 days of the trust's receipt of the claim. |
| Claims processor | Verus Claims Services, LLC (which acquired MFR Claims Processing, Inc., the trust's original processor), 3967 Princeton Pike, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, through the Verus electronic filing system (Electronic Filer Agreement required). Inquiries: sepcoinquiries@mfrclaims.com. |
| Trust created | Under the Second Amended Plan of Reorganization, as Modified, for Sepco Corporation dated December 12, 2019, Case No. 16-50058 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio, confirmed by order entered March 23, 2020 and affirmed by the District Court on May 5, 2020. The Petition Date was January 14, 2016. The trust began accepting claims December 7, 2020. The TDP has been amended once, by the First Amendment (sequencing adjustment) dated August 11, 2023. |
| Last checked | October 18, 2026, against sepco.mfrclaims.com (home, Resources, and Contact Us pages), the Sepco Trust Distribution Procedures, the First Amendment to the TDP dated August 11, 2023, the Notice Regarding Payment Percentage dated July 10, 2026, the Notice of 2026 Scheduled Values, the Exposure and Product Identification Guidelines dated November 12, 2021, the Claims Filing Deadlines letter dated February 5, 2024, the Notice of Claim Filing Requirements and Fee, and the Claim Form Instructions dated April 12, 2021. |
SCHEDULE OF DISEASES
The Sepco TDP uses five disease levels, numbered from Severe Asbestosis (Level I) up to Mesothelioma (Level V), with no non-malignant pleural levels. Every level has a scheduled value and Lung Cancer 2 is paid on a schedule. The values below are the 2026 values from the trust's notice, after six 1% annual increases on the TDP's base figures.
| Level | Disease | Base Value (TDP) | 2026 Scheduled Value | Payout at 10% | Payout at proposed 12% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | Mesothelioma | $50,000 | $53,076 | About $5,308 | About $6,369 |
| IV | Lung Cancer 1 | $17,000 | $18,046 | About $1,805 | About $2,166 |
| III | Lung Cancer 2 | $5,000 | $5,309 | About $531 | About $637 |
| II | Other Cancer | $7,000 | $7,431 | About $743 | About $892 |
| I | Severe Asbestosis | $12,000 | $12,738 | About $1,274 | About $1,529 |
The payout columns are the 2026 scheduled value times 10%, and times the proposed 12%, rounded. The 12% column is arithmetic on the trust's July 10, 2026 proposal, not a rate the trust has adopted. Sepco is a small payer, and the Extraordinary Claim track (five times the scheduled value) is where a claim with heavy, well-documented Sepco exposure becomes worth real money.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
The trust checks the disease, the product, the timing, and the fee. The product rule is stricter than at most trusts, and the trust has published a policy explaining what it expects an affidavit to say.
The TDP requires the injured party to show, to the trust's satisfaction, that he or she regularly worked with Sepco's asbestos gaskets, asbestos packing, asbestos tubing, asbestos thermal insulation for tubing or piping, or asbestos insulation blankets in settings where those products were ground, scraped, brushed, cut, removed, or physically manipulated so as to release asbestos fiber (TDP Section 5.6(b)(3)). The trust's Exposure and Product Identification Guidelines (November 12, 2021) add that product identification cannot rest on an unsubstantiated assertion: the affidavit or testimony must give a foundation, based on personal knowledge, for how the witness knew the product was Sepco's, such as what was displayed or printed on the box, packaging, or product, or written sales records. The trust does not limit the kinds of foundation it will accept and weighs each submission case by case, taking into account whether the injured person has died or is unavailable and the limited Sepco sales records that exist. It asks for the location and timing of the exposure, the claimant's job title, and what the product was used for. The trust accepts a sworn statement of the injured person or a co-worker, a sworn statement of a family member when the claimant has died, invoices, employment or construction records, or other credible evidence, and it can ask for more. Mesothelioma needs Debtor Exposure only. Lung Cancer 1 and 2, Other Cancer, and Severe Asbestosis also need six months of Debtor Exposure and Significant Occupational Exposure, which means at least five cumulative years in an industry and occupation that handled raw asbestos, fabricated asbestos products, worked with asbestos products, or worked regularly alongside those who did (Section 5.6(b)(2)). Take-home (secondary) exposure claims must show the occupationally exposed person would have met these rules (Section 5.4). The TDP sets no exposure cutoff date.
A mesothelioma claim needs a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Lung Cancer 1 and Other Cancer need the cancer diagnosis plus evidence of an underlying Bilateral Asbestos-Related Nonmalignant Disease (a B-read of 1/0 or higher, or an x-ray, CT, or pathology report by a qualified physician showing bilateral disease) and medical documentation that asbestos exposure contributed to the cancer. Lung Cancer 2 is a lung cancer that does not meet the Lung Cancer 1 criteria. Severe Asbestosis needs an ILO reading of 2/1 or higher or pathology plus TLC under 65% or FVC under 65% with an FEV1/FVC ratio over 65%, or an asbestosis death shown on the death certificate or by a qualified physician's report. The National Cancer Institute explains what mesothelioma is and how it is diagnosed.
Anyone first diagnosed after January 14, 2016 may file within three years after diagnosis, regardless of the state statute of limitations (Section 5.1(a)(2)). The alternative deadline of June 7, 2024 has passed, so for a diagnosis today the deadline is three years from the diagnosis date. Claims diagnosed before January 14, 2016 had to be filed by June 7, 2024 if they were pending against Sepco, tolled, or still within the statute of limitations on the Petition Date (letter dated February 5, 2024). The $50 filing fee must arrive within 60 days of the trust's receipt of the claim; until it does the claim sits on administrative hold, is not deemed filed, and cannot be deferred, and if it never arrives the claim is rejected and the statute of limitations is not treated as tolled. The fee is refunded when the claimant accepts and is paid an offer. We send the fee with the claim.
Sepco has no Individual Review track. A valid claim is paid the scheduled value times the payment percentage, about $5,308 for mesothelioma at 10% and about $6,369 if the proposed 12% is adopted. A claimant exposed predominantly in a Sepco plant, or whose exposure was at least 75% Sepco product, can seek Extraordinary Claim Review for up to five times the scheduled value, about $26,538 for mesothelioma at 10%, and must disclose every other claim and trust filing for the same injury (Section 5.3(a)(4)). A claimant who disputes the trust's decision can go to arbitration under the trust's ADR Procedures and, after non-binding arbitration, to the tort system.
RATE HISTORY
The trust's home page states that the Initial Payment Percentage is 10% and is subject to revision under the TDP, and the trust has posted no change since it began accepting claims on December 7, 2020. The TDP requires the trustee to reconsider the rate at least every three years with the consent of the Trust Advisory Committee and the Future Claimants' Representative (Section 4.2).
On July 10, 2026 the trust gave notice that the trustee is reconsidering the payment percentage under Section 4.3, that the rate currently applied is 10%, and that the proposed rate is 12%. The notice does not give an effective date, and as of October 18, 2026 the trust has posted no adoption notice and its home page still lists 10%. Under Section 4.3, if a higher rate is adopted, claimants paid at 10% receive supplemental payments to bring them up to the new rate. The trust posts no annual report on its website, so this page carries no claims-paid totals.
PRODUCTS AND WORK SITES
The TDP names the products the trust answers for: Sepco's asbestos gaskets, asbestos packing, asbestos tubing, asbestos thermal insulation for tubing and piping, and asbestos insulation blankets (Section 5.6(b)(3)). The trust publishes no site list and no occupation list, and its 2021 guidelines note that few Sepco sales records survive, which is why the foundation for the product identification matters so much. Proof for the trust comes from two directions.
The firm sees gasket, packing, and pipe insulation exposure among pipefitters, boilermakers, insulators, and plant maintenance workers in power plants, refineries, and heavy industry, and the same history usually supports claims against the larger gasket and insulation trusts, including Garlock, Federal-Mogul, and Johns Manville, which is where most of the recovery comes from. Our pages on power plant asbestos exposure and products that contained asbestos explain how these materials released fiber.
QUESTIONS
As of October 18, 2026, the Sepco Asbestos Personal Injury Trust pays 10% of a claim's scheduled value, the rate it has used since it opened in December 2020. On July 10, 2026 the trustee gave notice that the rate is under reconsideration and that the proposed rate is 12%, subject to the consent of the Trust Advisory Committee and the Future Claimants' Representative. The trust has not yet posted an adoption notice.
The 2026 mesothelioma scheduled value is $53,076, so a valid claim pays about $5,308 at 10% and would pay about $6,369 if the proposed 12% is adopted. The values rise 1% each January. There is no Individual Review track, but a claimant exposed predominantly in a Sepco plant or whose exposure was at least 75% Sepco product can seek Extraordinary Claim Review for up to five times the scheduled value, about $26,538 at 10%.
Usually not for a recent diagnosis. Anyone first diagnosed after January 14, 2016 may file within three years after diagnosis regardless of the state statute of limitations. The trust's alternative deadline of June 7, 2024 has passed, so claims diagnosed before January 14, 2016 and not filed by then are late. A claim is not treated as filed until its $50 fee arrives, within 60 days.
WHY THRONEBERRY LAW GROUP
Sepco pays a dime on the dollar on small values and turns away any affidavit that just says "Sepco." A firm that files a boilerplate product identification here loses the claim and the fee. We file Sepco when a client's gasket, packing, or pipe insulation history includes a real foundation for the Sepco name, because the claim then costs nothing extra once the proof is built for the larger gasket and insulation trusts, because the fee comes back when the claim pays, and because the Extraordinary Claim track can turn a small claim into a meaningful one for a worker whose exposure was mostly Sepco product. We write the foundation into the affidavit, send the $50 fee with the claim, and calendar the 60-day fee deadline. Our overview of mesothelioma compensation explains how trust payments fit with lawsuits and other recoveries, and attorney Michael Throneberry, who has handled asbestos cases for more than two decades, reviews every trust claim before it goes out.
We work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. We serve clients nationwide, we can help Spanish-speaking families, and we travel to you, including to your home or hospital.
SOURCES
Figures on this page come from the Sepco Asbestos Personal Injury Trust website (sepco.mfrclaims.com): the home, Resources, and Contact Us pages; the Sepco Trust Distribution Procedures; the First Amendment to the TDP dated August 11, 2023; the Notice Regarding Payment Percentage dated July 10, 2026; the Notice of 2026 Scheduled Values; the Exposure and Product Identification Guidelines dated November 12, 2021; the Claims Filing Deadlines letter dated February 5, 2024; the Notice of Claim Filing Requirements and Fee; and the Claim Form Instructions dated April 12, 2021 (Case No. 16-50058, Bankr. N.D. Ohio). The trust's earlier claim filing deadline notice is posted as an image-only scan and could not be read as text. Last checked October 18, 2026.
DISCLAIMER
This page is general information, not legal advice. Trust payment percentages, scheduled values, and procedures change, and the trust's own current documents control. Payout examples are arithmetic on the trust's published figures, not a promise of any result. Contacting us or sending a form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Copyright 2026 Throneberry Law Group. All rights reserved.
GET A FREE CASE REVIEW
If you or a family member cut, scraped, or handled Sepco gaskets, packing, tubing, or pipe insulation on the job, the Sepco asbestos trust may owe a payment, and the same work history often supports claims against the larger gasket and insulation trusts. We check the current rate, the product proof rules, the fee, and the deadline for every trust before we file.
We serve clients across the country, we can help Spanish-speaking families, and we charge nothing unless we recover for you. Start with a free, no-obligation case review through our contact form.
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