About the Congoleum Plan Trust
Congoleum Corporation was one of the largest manufacturers of resilient floor covering products in the United States throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century. Operating manufacturing plants in Mercerville, New Jersey and Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Congoleum produced vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, sheet flooring, and other resilient flooring products that were widely installed in homes, schools, hospitals, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities across the country. Like many flooring manufacturers of the era, Congoleum incorporated chrysotile asbestos into its floor tile products as a filler and reinforcing agent — asbestos gave the tiles dimensional stability, fire resistance, and durability. Asbestos was also used in the felt or backing material on some sheet flooring products.
The primary hazard from vinyl-asbestos floor tile was not from the tile sitting undisturbed on the floor, but from operations that cut, scored, snapped, ground, or sanded the tile. Floor tile installers who used hand scribers and tile cutters to fit tiles around obstacles and into corners generated asbestos-containing dust with each cut. Workers who buffed floors with high-speed floor polishers or abraded old tile surfaces before laying new flooring over them released asbestos fibers into the air. Perhaps most dangerous was the removal of old vinyl-asbestos tile — scraping, chipping, and grinding existing tile created substantial airborne contamination in the work area. None of this work was typically performed with respiratory protection or ventilation controls during the height of vinyl-asbestos floor tile use.
Congoleum Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2003, overwhelmed by the volume of asbestos personal injury claims it faced from workers who had installed, maintained, and removed its products over the decades. The bankruptcy reorganization process was lengthy and contested. The plan of reorganization was ultimately confirmed and the Congoleum Plan Trust became operational in 2010, funded to address all present and future asbestos personal injury claims arising from exposure to Congoleum products. The trust processes claims from diagnosed mesothelioma victims and other asbestos disease sufferers under a structured Trust Distribution Procedure that sets scheduled compensation values by disease category.
Trust Fund Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Trust Name | Congoleum Plan Trust |
| Predecessor Company | Congoleum Corporation |
| Bankruptcy Filing Year | 2003 (Chapter 11) |
| Year Trust Established | 2010 |
| Payment Percentage | 8.67% |
| Mesothelioma Scheduled Value | ~$250,000 |
| Mesothelioma Actual Payment | ~$21,675 (8.67% of scheduled value) |
| Claims Processor | Congoleum Plan Trust |
| Claim Types Accepted | Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, Other Asbestos Disease |
| Primary Products | Vinyl-asbestos floor tile, sheet flooring with asbestos backing |
| Key Facilities | Mercerville, New Jersey; Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania |
The 8.67% payment rate means claimants receive approximately 8.67 cents per dollar of their scheduled claim value. Because trust payments are typically combined with recoveries from other trusts and civil lawsuits, total compensation for mesothelioma victims can be significantly higher than the Congoleum trust payment alone.
Who Is Eligible to File a Congoleum Plan Trust Claim
The Congoleum Plan Trust compensates individuals who were exposed to asbestos from Congoleum flooring products and who have been diagnosed with a qualifying asbestos-related disease. Eligibility requires a confirmed medical diagnosis and documented exposure to Congoleum vinyl-asbestos floor tiles or sheet flooring during the period when those products contained asbestos.
Occupations With High Congoleum Exposure Risk
- Floor tile installers and flooring mechanics who cut and installed vinyl-asbestos Congoleum tiles
- Sheet flooring installers who cut and laid Congoleum sheet flooring products
- Flooring contractors who performed residential and commercial floor installation
- Floor maintenance workers who buffed, stripped, and waxed vinyl-asbestos tile floors
- Janitors and custodians who regularly buffed Congoleum flooring with high-speed machines
- Renovation workers who removed old Congoleum vinyl-asbestos tile to install new flooring
- Demolition workers who disturbed floors containing Congoleum asbestos-containing products
- Carpenters and general contractors who performed floor preparation work
- Tile setters who worked alongside flooring workers in renovation and construction settings
- School custodians and institutional maintenance workers who maintained asbestos-containing tile floors
- Building maintenance mechanics in hospitals, schools, and commercial buildings with Congoleum flooring
Typical Worksites
- Residential homes built or renovated between the 1940s and 1980s
- Schools and educational facilities with vinyl tile floors
- Hospitals and healthcare facilities
- Commercial office buildings and retail spaces
- Government buildings and military installations
- Industrial plant offices, break rooms, and administrative areas
- Apartment buildings and multi-family residential complexes
Exposure Timeframe
Congoleum manufactured vinyl-asbestos floor tile and related products containing asbestos from the 1940s through approximately 1983, when asbestos was largely phased out of resilient flooring. Workers who installed, maintained, or removed Congoleum products during this period are at risk. Because renovation and removal work continued on pre-existing installations through the 1990s and even later, some workers may have experienced significant asbestos exposure while working with Congoleum materials manufactured decades earlier.
Qualifying Diagnoses
- Mesothelioma (pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial)
- Lung cancer with a documented history of asbestos exposure
- Asbestosis confirmed by imaging and clinical evaluation
- Other asbestos-related diseases covered by the Trust Distribution Procedures
How to File a Claim With the Congoleum Plan Trust
Filing an asbestos trust claim requires legal expertise, proper documentation, and timely submission. Here is the step-by-step process for filing with the Congoleum Plan Trust:
- Consult a mesothelioma attorney at no cost. Asbestos attorneys handle trust fund claims on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe nothing unless you recover compensation. An initial consultation will help you understand whether you have a viable Congoleum claim and what your total potential recovery may be across all applicable trusts.
- Identify and document your Congoleum exposure. Your attorney will work with you to identify the specific Congoleum products you encountered during your work. Useful evidence includes product labels, invoices from flooring suppliers, photographs of the installation sites, and co-worker statements confirming that Congoleum brand tile was used at the jobs where you worked.
- Obtain your complete medical and diagnostic records. A confirmed pathology report diagnosing mesothelioma or another asbestos disease is required. Your attorney will gather all medical records including biopsy results, imaging studies, and treatment records, and may arrange for physician review or consultation.
- Compile your work history documentation. Tax records, Social Security earnings records, union membership and dispatch records, employer records, and affidavits from former co-workers can all establish the period and nature of your floor tile installation work and your presence at jobsites where Congoleum products were used.
- Your attorney prepares and submits the claim to the trust. The complete claim package — claim forms, medical records, exposure evidence, and supporting affidavits — is submitted to the Congoleum Plan Trust. Your attorney handles all communication with the trust.
- The trust evaluates your claim under its distribution procedures. The Congoleum Plan Trust reviews the submitted materials and determines the applicable disease category and scheduled value. Expedited review may be available for terminal patients.
- Review and accept the payment offer. The trust will issue a payment offer representing the scheduled value multiplied by the 8.67% payment rate. Your attorney will advise you on whether to accept or seek individual review. Upon acceptance, payment is disbursed and attorney fees are deducted.
Can You File Other Claims in Addition to a Congoleum Claim?
Yes, and for flooring workers, pursuing multiple claims is the norm rather than the exception. The vinyl-asbestos floor tile market in the mid-twentieth century was shared among several major manufacturers including Congoleum, Armstrong World Industries, Kentile Floors, and others — many of which established their own asbestos trusts following bankruptcy. A flooring contractor who worked commercially across many years and jobsites likely installed products from several manufacturers, and may be eligible to file with each manufacturer's trust separately.
Beyond flooring product trusts, many flooring workers also encountered asbestos in other building materials during their careers — asbestos pipe covering in the areas where they worked, asbestos ceiling tiles adjacent to their flooring installation areas, or asbestos-containing adhesives and mastics used in conjunction with floor tile installation. Each of these exposures may support additional claims against other trusts.
Civil lawsuits against solvent manufacturers and distributors of asbestos-containing products are also available in many cases. Litigation can be filed simultaneously with trust claims and sometimes yields substantially larger recoveries than trust payments alone. With the Congoleum trust paying only 8.67% of the scheduled value, many claimants find that their total recovery across all trusts and litigation is many times larger than the Congoleum payment alone. Contact an attorney to evaluate your full range of options.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Congoleum Plan Trust is the asbestos bankruptcy trust created following Congoleum Corporation's 2003 Chapter 11 filing and the confirmation of its reorganization plan. The trust became operational in 2010 and is funded to compensate all present and future claimants who developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos diseases from exposure to Congoleum vinyl-asbestos floor tiles and sheet flooring products.
The 8.67% payment rate reflects the ratio of the trust's available assets to the total estimated value of all present and future claims against the trust. When the trust's funds are insufficient to pay each claim at full scheduled value, a pro-rata payment percentage is set so that all claimants — current and future — receive equal treatment. This is a common feature of asbestos trusts, and it is why most mesothelioma attorneys pursue claims against multiple trusts and defendants simultaneously rather than relying on any single trust.
If you installed, cut, buffed, or removed Congoleum vinyl-asbestos floor tile during that period and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, you may very well have an eligible claim. The 1960s and 1970s were the height of vinyl-asbestos tile use in the United States, and Congoleum was one of the major brands. Speak with an asbestos attorney who can evaluate your specific work history and diagnosis to confirm your eligibility.
Homeowners and do-it-yourself renovators who cut, installed, or removed Congoleum vinyl-asbestos tile and later developed mesothelioma may also have claims. The trust does not limit eligibility solely to professional flooring workers — it covers anyone who was exposed to asbestos from Congoleum products. However, establishing clear product identification and exposure evidence may require more effort for non-professional settings. An attorney can advise you on this.
Product identification for floor tile can be challenging because installers often did not retain records of specific brand names. Useful evidence includes: product invoices from flooring suppliers you bought from, material specifications from construction projects, co-worker testimony identifying Congoleum as the brand used on specific jobs, building blueprints or specifications that named Congoleum as the specified product, and photographs of remaining tile in the installation. An experienced asbestos attorney has helped many clients establish product identification through these and other investigative methods.
The statute of limitations for asbestos trust claims mirrors state law, typically running one to three years from the date of diagnosis or the date you reasonably knew or should have known your illness was asbestos-related. Because these deadlines are strictly enforced, you must act promptly after diagnosis. Contact an asbestos attorney immediately to ensure your claim is filed within the applicable time period.