§ 90.056.Response to Motion to Stay

The claimant's answer to a stay motion, with two available responses.

Not later than the 14th day after the motion is filed, or a date set by court order, the claimant may file a response:

stating and providing proof that the claimant has made the identified trust claim and served the notice and material; or requesting a determination that the fees and expenses, including attorney's fees, for filing the claim exceed the claimant's reasonably anticipated recovery.

The first response defeats the motion factually — the claim was made and disclosed, and there is nothing to stay for.

The second is the same economic relief the trust claim obligation itself provides, available here in answer to a defendant's motion rather than on the claimant's own initiative.

Subsection (b) requires the court to decide it, and adds a condition on relief. Where the court finds the fees and expenses exceed the anticipated recovery, the claimant is not required to make the trust claim but shall provide the court with a verified statement of the exposed person's exposure history to asbestos or silica that is covered by the trust.

The exposure history is the point. Relief from the filing obligation does not relieve the claimant of accounting for the exposure. The defendants learn what the claimant would have told the trust, which is the information that bears on apportionment — and the trust claim is excused only because it would not have paid enough to be worth filing.