About the G-I Holdings (GAF) Trust
GAF Corporation — and its predecessor, the Ruberoid Company — was one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of roofing and building materials in the United States throughout the twentieth century. Originally founded as the General Aniline and Film Corporation, GAF subsequently transformed its business to focus on building materials, operating under both the GAF and Ruberoid trade names. The Ruberoid Company had deep roots in the asbestos building products industry, manufacturing asbestos-containing roofing shingles, built-up roofing felts, asbestos-cement flat and corrugated sheet, and other construction materials for decades. GAF inherited these product lines and continued to sell asbestos-containing roofing and building products well into the period when the health risks of asbestos were becoming widely recognized.
One of the most significant aspects of GAF's asbestos liability was its ownership and operation of an asbestos mining and milling operation in Eden, Vermont — one of the longest-operating chrysotile asbestos mines in North American history. The Vermont mine supplied raw asbestos fiber to GAF's own manufacturing operations and also sold fiber to other asbestos product manufacturers. Workers at the Vermont mine and mill were directly exposed to raw asbestos fiber, creating severe occupational disease risk. Miners, millers, maintenance workers, and even residents of nearby communities in Eden and Lowell, Vermont were exposed to airborne asbestos from mining and milling operations over the course of decades.
G-I Holdings, Inc. — the parent company of GAF Corporation — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2001, citing its inability to manage the flood of asbestos personal injury claims arising from decades of asbestos product manufacturing and the Vermont mine. After eight years of reorganization proceedings, the G-I Holdings plan of reorganization was confirmed and the trust became operational in 2009. The G-I Holdings, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust was funded to address all present and future asbestos claims arising from exposure to GAF and Ruberoid products and Vermont mine operations. The trust processes claims under a Trust Distribution Procedure that classifies claims by disease category and applies the current payment percentage to the applicable scheduled value.
Trust Fund Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Trust Name | G-I Holdings, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust |
| Predecessor Company | G-I Holdings, Inc. / GAF Corporation / Ruberoid Company |
| Bankruptcy Filing Year | 2001 (Chapter 11) |
| Year Trust Established | 2009 |
| Payment Percentage | 5% |
| Mesothelioma Scheduled Value | ~$300,000 |
| Mesothelioma Actual Payment | ~$15,000 (5% of scheduled value) |
| Claims Processor | G-I Holdings Asbestos PI Settlement Trust |
| Claim Types Accepted | Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, Other Asbestos Disease |
| Primary Products | Roofing shingles, built-up roofing felt, asbestos-cement board, raw asbestos fiber |
| Key Sites | Vermont asbestos mine (Eden/Lowell); GAF/Ruberoid manufacturing plants nationwide |
The 5% payment rate is among the lower rates in the asbestos trust system, reflecting a large total claims pool relative to trust assets. This makes pursuing additional trusts and civil lawsuits critically important for maximizing total recovery.
Who Is Eligible to File a G-I Holdings GAF Trust Claim
The G-I Holdings GAF Trust covers individuals who were exposed to asbestos from GAF or Ruberoid manufactured products — including roofing materials, asbestos-cement products, and raw fiber from the Vermont mine — and who have been diagnosed with a qualifying asbestos-related disease. Eligibility requires both medical documentation of a covered disease and evidence linking the claimant to GAF or Ruberoid asbestos-containing products or the Vermont mine operation.
Occupations With High GAF/Ruberoid Exposure Risk
- Roofers who installed GAF or Ruberoid asbestos-containing roofing shingles and felt
- Built-up roofing (BUR) workers who applied asbestos-containing roofing felt and aggregate
- Sheet metal workers and roofers who cut and installed asbestos-cement corrugated sheeting
- Construction workers involved in roofing and building envelope work
- Demolition workers who removed old asbestos-containing roofing materials
- Asbestos miners and millers at the Eden, Vermont chrysotile mine
- Transportation workers who hauled raw asbestos fiber from the Vermont mine
- Manufacturing plant workers at GAF or Ruberoid production facilities
- Insulation workers who used GAF asbestos-cement pipe and board products
- Carpenters and general construction workers who installed asbestos-cement siding and board
- Residents of the Eden and Lowell, Vermont communities near the asbestos mine
Key GAF and Ruberoid Products Associated With Claims
- GAF and Ruberoid asbestos-containing roofing shingles (three-tab and other styles)
- Ruberoid asbestos-containing built-up roofing felt (15-lb, 30-lb, saturated felt)
- Asbestos-cement flat sheet and corrugated board (siding, roofing, and industrial applications)
- Asbestos-cement pipe and conduit
- Raw chrysotile asbestos fiber from the Vermont mine, supplied to other manufacturers
- GAF asbestos floor tile and resilient flooring products (manufactured prior to product exit)
Exposure Timeframe
GAF and Ruberoid manufactured asbestos-containing roofing and building products from the early twentieth century through the late 1970s and into the early 1980s. The Vermont asbestos mine operated from the early 1900s until it was closed in the 1990s. Workers who were exposed during any portion of these periods are potentially eligible, particularly those with substantial, repeated exposure over multiple years on roofing or construction jobs where GAF/Ruberoid products were standard materials.
Qualifying Diagnoses
- Mesothelioma (pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial)
- Lung cancer with documented asbestos exposure history
- Asbestosis confirmed by appropriate medical evaluation
- Other asbestos-related diseases as specified in the trust distribution procedures
How to File a Claim With the G-I Holdings GAF Trust
The process of filing with the G-I Holdings GAF Trust follows the standard asbestos trust claim framework. An experienced attorney is essential because of the documentation requirements and legal procedures involved.
- Contact an asbestos attorney immediately following your diagnosis. Mesothelioma attorneys represent clients on contingency — there is no fee unless you recover. An attorney will evaluate whether you have a viable GAF claim and identify all other claims you may also have against other trusts and solvent defendants.
- Identify your exposure to GAF or Ruberoid products. Your attorney will work with you to establish product-specific exposure to GAF or Ruberoid asbestos-containing materials. Evidence can include job records, union dispatch records, employer accounts, co-worker affidavits, and trade knowledge about which roofing products were standard in your area and time period.
- Gather your medical documentation. A confirmed pathology report establishing your mesothelioma or asbestos disease diagnosis is essential. Your attorney will collect your complete medical records and may arrange for independent physician review.
- Compile employment and exposure documentation. Tax returns, Social Security earnings records, union hall records, employer records, and co-worker declarations help establish the years, worksites, and nature of your work involving GAF roofing or building products.
- Your attorney files the completed claim package. The claim forms, medical evidence, exposure documentation, and any affidavits are compiled and submitted to the G-I Holdings GAF Trust by your attorney on your behalf.
- The trust reviews and evaluates your submission. The trust applies its Trust Distribution Procedures to evaluate the disease category, verify the exposure history, and calculate the payment offer. Expedited review is available for terminally ill patients.
- Accept or contest the payment offer. You and your attorney will review the trust's payment calculation. If the offer is at the standard scheduled value multiplied by 5%, you may accept. If there are grounds for a higher individual review amount, your attorney can request that process.
Can You File Other Claims in Addition to a GAF Trust Claim?
Absolutely — and because the GAF trust's payment rate is only 5%, pursuing additional claims is especially important. Roofers and construction workers who used GAF or Ruberoid products were typically also exposed to asbestos from many other manufacturers. Roofing supply houses stocked products from multiple brands; construction projects used asbestos-containing products from dozens of manufacturers simultaneously. Workers on commercial roofing or building projects may have encountered asbestos insulation, pipe covering, joint compound, floor tile, and other materials in addition to roofing products.
Many manufacturers of asbestos-containing building products have established their own separate trusts, and an experienced mesothelioma attorney will evaluate your work history against the full list of active trusts — more than 60 at present — to identify every filing opportunity. Vermont mine workers may have additional claims related to employers, contractors, and the mine operator's other affiliated companies.
Civil lawsuits against solvent companies that distributed or sold asbestos-containing roofing and building products remain available and can yield significantly larger recoveries than trust fund payments. An attorney will assess whether solvent defendants played a role in your exposure and, if so, pursue litigation in parallel with trust claims. The combination of trust recoveries across multiple defendants and civil litigation often results in total compensation far exceeding what any single trust can provide at its current payment percentage.
Frequently Asked Questions
The G-I Holdings, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust is the asbestos bankruptcy trust created after G-I Holdings — the parent company of GAF Corporation and successor to the Ruberoid Company — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001. The trust became operational in 2009 and compensates individuals who developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos diseases from exposure to GAF and Ruberoid roofing products, asbestos-cement materials, and raw asbestos fiber from the Vermont mine.
The Ruberoid Company was a major early manufacturer of asbestos-containing roofing and building products. GAF Corporation (General Aniline and Film) eventually merged with or acquired Ruberoid and continued operating in the building materials business under both trade names. G-I Holdings, Inc. was the corporate holding company that owned GAF. When G-I Holdings filed for bankruptcy, it brought all of GAF's and Ruberoid's asbestos liabilities into the bankruptcy estate, which is why the resulting trust covers exposure to both GAF-branded and Ruberoid-branded products.
Miners, millers, maintenance workers, and other employees at GAF's chrysotile asbestos mine in Eden, Vermont are specifically covered by the G-I Holdings trust. The Vermont mine was one of the largest sources of chrysotile asbestos in the eastern United States, and workers there faced severe asbestos exposure. If you worked at the Vermont mine and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, you should contact an attorney immediately to discuss both the G-I Holdings trust claim and any other available claims.
The 5% payment rate means the GAF trust pays 5 cents for every dollar of your scheduled claim value. For mesothelioma, with a scheduled value of approximately $300,000, you would receive approximately $15,000 from this trust. This is one reason why an experienced mesothelioma attorney pursues claims against many trusts simultaneously — the combined recoveries from multiple trusts, plus civil litigation proceeds where available, can total hundreds of thousands of dollars or more even when individual trust payments are modest.
This is very common. Most roofers did not track brand names on the products they installed. However, experienced asbestos attorneys have developed extensive knowledge of which roofing products were commonly used in specific geographic areas and time periods. Co-worker testimony, union records, roofing supplier invoices, and general industry knowledge about what products were dominant in various markets can all help establish that GAF or Ruberoid products were used at your worksites. Do not assume you cannot file simply because you do not have brand-specific documentation.
Yes. As with all asbestos trust claims, state statutes of limitations apply — typically one to three years from the date of your mesothelioma or asbestos disease diagnosis, or from the date you knew or should have known the disease was asbestos-related. These deadlines are enforced. Contact an asbestos attorney as soon as possible after diagnosis to protect your right to file.