Bondex

In the late 1950s, the name “Bondex” was trademarked by the Reardon Company, which was headquartered in Missouri. Bondex made joint compounds as well as a variety of putties that included asbestos until the early 1980s. The company’s utilization of asbestos led to various asbestos-related lawsuits.

Bondex started as a small company in Missouri in the late 1950s. Products made by the company proved successful for people in the construction industry. The company’s success caught the attention of Republic Powdered Metals, a company that focused on producing protective coatings as well as other products utilized by industrial maintenance. The parent company of Bondex, Reardon Company, was later acquired by Republic in 1966.

Republic continued purchasing other small companies including DAP Products Incorporated and Rust-Oleum Corporation. These acquisitions were designed to increase Republic’s involvement in the industry of producing building materials. Several of these companies have since been determined to use asbestos in their products. Republic placed asbestos in its products up until 1977.

Bondex’s use of asbestos ended up exposing countless people throughout the country to dangerous material. People began pursuing claims against the company in 2010.

Beginning in the late 1950s, Bondex produced various products that contained asbestos. These products are known as Reardon Company and RPM Incorporated. Asbestos was utilized as a material in various products due to the material’s heat-resistant and durable nature. Bondex relied on asbestos as a material in its products until the 1980s. Asbestos was placed in a range of products manufactured by the company including roof cement, texture paint, and joint compound. Products made by Bondex were sold by various companies including Dramex, Penncraft, Reardon, Trax, and Wards.

Bondex was established as a company that would sell products to homeowners who were performing their repair jobs. The company later expanded to offer products to workers. Any individual who worked at Bondex might have been exposed to asbestos. Not only are these populations at risk of asbestos exposure, but people who work on older residences, as well as other buildings where Bondex was used, are also at risk of asbestos exposure. Some kinds of occupations at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing Bondex products include roofers, masons, and drywall tapers.

RPM Incorporated began experiencing asbestos-associated lawsuits arising in the 1980s. In 2003, however, the volume of asbestos claims faced by the company exhausted its insurance policy. Before 2003, insurance owned by RPM covered around 90% of the asbestos-exposure cases in which Bondex was involved.

In the years after its insurance payments concluded, RPM Incorporated was involved in a large number of asbestos-exposure lawsuit costs. From 2005 to 2009, Bondex as well as the RPI subsidiary, Specialty Products Holding Corporation, faced asbestos-exposure litigation costs somewhere between $60 million and $82 million. In 2000, while insurance still made payments, the company spent a much lower amount of $8.2 million on its asbestos-exposure lawsuit costs.

One notable case involving asbestos exposure and Bondex was brought in 2009 by a man who performed repairs at his residence with products made by Bondex that contained asbestos between the 1960s and 1980s. The man as well as his wife ultimately received $2 million in compensation for various damages and harms including pain, suffering, loss of consortium, and emotional distress. In 2010,

Bondex was later forced to file for bankruptcy after exhausting its insurance in 2010. When Bondex filed for Chapter 11, the company faced over 10,000 asbestos-exposure lawsuits. This same year, a chief executive for the company stated that they paid over $600 million to asbestos exposure victims over the last eight years. A term of Bondex’s bankruptcy filing was that the company was required to establish an asbestos trust fund to compensate victims.

Countless people were harmed by exposure to asbestos-containing products made by Bondex. If you or a loved one finds yourself in such a situation, contact Throneberry Law Group today for assistance.