Johns Manville Asbestos Trust Fund Settlement

Johns Manville manufactured asbestos-containing insulation, roofing, cement, flooring, wallboard, and other products used throughout the United States. Decades later, former workers, tradespeople, military veterans, and family members are still being diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases connected to those products.

The Johns Manville Asbestos Trust provides compensation to people who meet its requirements for asbestos exposure and disease. The trust was established following Johns Manville's bankruptcy and remains active today.

The Lyon Firm represents people nationwide in asbestos exposure and mesothelioma claims. We investigate where you worked, the products you encountered, and other sources of asbestos exposure to determine which trust claims and other legal options are available.

If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease, call The Lyon Firm at (513) 381-2333 for a free consultation. We can review your work and exposure history and determine whether Johns Manville products are connected to your claim.

What Is the Johns Manville Asbestos Trust Fund?

Johns Manville filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1982 as asbestos litigation against the company continued to grow. Its reorganization ultimately created the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, which became operational in 1988 with approximately $2.5 billion in initial funding.

The trust was established to resolve asbestos personal injury claims arising from exposure to asbestos and asbestos-containing products mined or manufactured by Johns Manville and affiliated entities.

Rather than pursuing Johns Manville directly through the traditional court system, eligible claimants seek compensation through the trust's claims process.

The Johns Manville Asbestos Trust remains active and continues paying eligible claims. Because asbestos-related diseases have long latency periods, people diagnosed today could be seeking compensation for exposure that occurred decades ago.

History of Johns Manville Corporation and Asbestos

Johns Manville became one of the country's largest manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos-containing materials. By the 1940s, the company was a world leader in asbestos product sales.

Its products reached residential, commercial, industrial, and military settings across the country. Asbestos was useful to manufacturers because of its resistance to heat and fire and its ability to strengthen or insulate other materials.

Johns Manville incorporated asbestos into products such as:

• Pipe and block insulation
• Insulating cement
• Roofing materials
• Shingles and siding
• Wallboard
• Flooring
• Adhesives and putty
• Fireproof panels
• Building paper and felt
• Asbestos-cement products
• Automotive materials
• Industrial insulation

Workers handling these materials were not the only people exposed. Cutting, sanding, removing, repairing, or disturbing asbestos-containing products released microscopic fibers into the surrounding air, putting nearby tradespeople and other workers at risk.

Asbestos fibers carried home on clothing, shoes, hair, and work equipment also exposed some workers' spouses and children.

Which Johns Manville Products Contained Asbestos?

Johns Manville sold asbestos products under numerous names and brands. Identifying a particular product is useful when reconstructing an exposure history, although someone diagnosed with an asbestos disease might not remember a brand name from work performed 30, 40, or 50 years ago.

Known Johns Manville asbestos products include:

• 352 Insulating Cement
• 7M-13 Raw Asbestos Fibers
• Asbestoguard Adhesives
• Asbestotle Flashing
• Colorbestos Siding Sheets
• Corrugated Asbestos Transite Sheets
• Fibrocel Insulation
• Flexstone Asbestos Roofs
• Glasal Flexboard
• Insulkote Weatherproofing
• J-M Asbestos Flexboard
• J-M Asbestos Movable Walls
• J-M Asbestos Wall Board
• J-M Aviation Products
• J-M Building Papers and Felts
• J-M Built Up Roofs
• J-M Encased Insulating Board
• J-M Insulating Cement
• J-M Marinite Fireproof Sheet
• J-M Transite
• Johns Manville Caulking Putty
• Johns Manville Colorbestos Shingles
• Johns Manville Rigid Asbestos Shingles
• Permastone Asbestos-Cement Flexboard
• Salem Asbestos Roof Shingles
• Stonehedge Architectural Panels
• Terraflex Plastic Asbestos Floor Tile
• Thermobestos Block Insulation
• Thermobestos Cement
• Transitop Asbestos Panels
• Vitribestos Sheet
• Vulcabestos Insulation

These products were used in homes, commercial buildings, factories, power plants, shipyards, schools, military facilities, and other worksites.

Which Occupations Were at Risk From Johns Manville Asbestos Exposure?

People did not have to work directly for Johns Manville to encounter its asbestos products.

The company's insulation and construction materials were distributed widely, putting workers in numerous industries in contact with asbestos during installation, maintenance, repair, demolition, and renovation.

Occupations associated with potential exposure include:

• Insulators
• Pipefitters
• Plumbers
• Carpenters
• Electricians
• Roofers
• Construction workers
• Boilermakers
• Factory workers
• Industrial maintenance workers
• Shipyard workers
• Navy personnel
• Steelworkers
• Power plant workers
• HVAC workers
• Painters
• Mechanics
• Demolition workers

Someone diagnosed today might remember the type of work performed but not the manufacturer of the insulation, cement, roofing, or other material used at the site.

Asbestos attorneys use work histories, job sites, product information, witness testimony, and historical records to identify products associated with a person's exposure.

Who Is Eligible to File a Johns Manville Trust Claim?

Eligibility requires establishing both an asbestos-related disease and qualifying exposure connected to Johns Manville.

A claim generally requires information documenting:

• An eligible asbestos-related diagnosis
• Exposure to asbestos associated with Johns Manville
• The claimant's work or exposure history
• When and where the exposure occurred
• Medical documentation supporting the diagnosis

Family members could also have a claim when a person who developed an asbestos-related disease has died.

Eligibility is not limited to former Johns Manville employees. A construction worker who installed Johns Manville insulation, a Navy veteran who encountered the company's products aboard ships, or a maintenance worker who removed old Johns Manville materials could also have qualifying exposure.

The long period between asbestos exposure and diagnosis makes reconstructing that history especially important.

Let Us Look Into Where Your Asbestos Exposure Occurred

You do not need to remember the name printed on every insulation block, pipe covering, or building material you encountered decades ago.

Tell The Lyon Firm where you worked, what you did, and when you were there. Our legal team will investigate the companies and asbestos products associated with those jobs and determine which sources of compensation should be pursued.

Call (513) 381-2333 or request a case review online.

How Are Johns Manville Asbestos Claims Valued?

The Manville Trust uses established criteria to evaluate asbestos disease claims. The amount associated with a claim depends in part on the diagnosed disease and whether the claim meets the trust's medical and exposure requirements.

A trust claim is not valued solely by looking at the claimant's medical bills. Factors considered under the applicable trust procedures can include the disease involved, exposure history, medical documentation, and the review method used for the claim.

Asbestos trust claims also differ from traditional lawsuit settlements. A trust establishes values for qualifying disease claims and then applies its current payment percentage to the liquidated value.

That distinction is important when looking at figures published for asbestos trusts. A listed or scheduled value is not necessarily the amount a claimant receives.

What Is the Johns Manville Trust Payout Percentage?

As of September 2026, the Manville Trust's pro rata payment percentage is 5.6%.

The trustees increased the percentage from 5.1% to 5.6%, effective immediately, in September 2026. The trust reported that its eClaims system was updated to apply the new percentage to future offers and reissue qualifying outstanding offers at 5.6%.

The payment percentage exists because the trust must preserve assets for both current claimants and people who develop asbestos diseases in the future.

It also means that the scheduled or liquidated value of a claim should not be confused with the actual payment.

For example, if a qualifying claim had a liquidated value of $100,000, applying a 5.6% payment percentage would result in a $5,600 trust payment. The actual calculation depends on the value assigned to the individual claim and the trust rules in effect when it is processed.

Payment percentages can change. Anyone considering a claim should use the current trust information rather than relying on older payout figures found online.

Can You File Claims With More Than One Asbestos Trust?

Johns Manville was only one of many companies that manufactured or supplied asbestos products.

A pipefitter, insulator, shipyard worker, construction worker, or other tradesperson could have encountered products from several manufacturers during a career. As a result, a diagnosis could support claims involving more than one asbestos trust.

That is why an exposure investigation should extend beyond identifying a single Johns Manville product.

The Lyon Firm reviews a client's complete occupational and exposure history to identify other manufacturers, suppliers, jobsites, and companies associated with the asbestos they encountered.

Depending on that history, compensation could come from multiple asbestos trusts or other legal claims.

Johns Manville Mesothelioma Claims

Mesothelioma is strongly associated with asbestos exposure and often develops decades after the fibers were inhaled or ingested.

For someone with a Johns Manville mesothelioma claim, identifying where and when the company's products were encountered is an important part of establishing eligibility with the trust.

Exposure could have occurred while directly handling a Johns Manville product or simply working nearby while asbestos-containing insulation, cement, roofing, flooring, or another material was installed or disturbed.

A diagnosis also does not necessarily point to only one period of exposure. Someone who spent decades in construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding, or another industrial trade could have encountered asbestos at several jobsites and from numerous manufacturers.

Why Have an Attorney Review an Asbestos Trust Claim?

Asbestos trust claims require proof of both disease and exposure. For someone diagnosed decades after the exposure occurred, identifying the responsible manufacturers could require significant historical investigation.

Legal representation also allows the entire exposure history to be evaluated rather than treating the Johns Manville claim as the only potential source of recovery.

A Martindale-Nolo Research survey offers some broader context. More than nine out of 10 personal injury respondents who hired an attorney received compensation, compared with about half of those who handled their claims without one. 

Even after attorney fees, represented respondents reported average net payouts nearly three times higher. The survey involved personal injury claims generally, rather than asbestos trust claims specifically, so it should not be read as a prediction of any Johns Manville claim.

The Lyon Firm represents asbestos victims nationwide and investigates trust claims and other potential sources of compensation arising from the same exposure history.

“In a desperate life altering crisis, Joe Lyon quietly entered my life. My husband was losing battle with mesothelioma. Joe came respectfully, professionally, kindly and beneficially towards our family. I felt he was Heaven sent. It has been an honor to know and work with Joe.”

— Marlene Beal | Client of The Lyon Firm