Cracks Showing in Judicial Hellhole Judge’s Asbestos Receivership Scheme

As discussed extensively in the most recent Judicial Hellholes® report, Judge Jean Toal, the judge overseeing South Carolina’s asbestos litigation, has expanded the asbestos docket by appointing a receiver over various defunct entities to subject the companies to lawsuits like other asbestos defendants.  She has created at least twenty-one receiverships, using the same receiver – South Carolina personal injury lawyer Peter Protopapas – to pursue coverage under insurance issued to defunct companies. Protopapas then receives a third of the proceeds from litigation.

The model changed and the controversy escalated when Judge Toal appointed Protopapas as receiver over solvent companies.  This violated South Carolina law because it appointed a receiver without a judgment in place and with no evidence that the entities were insolvent or incapable of satisfying a future judgment.

A string of recent South Carolina Supreme Court decisions have narrowed the scope of the receivers appointed by Judge Toal and held expressly that receivers can only be appointed to collect assets for a single plaintiff, in the same case in which the receiver had been appointed, and only in the “rarest” and “most extraordinary cases,” especially in the absence of a final judgment.

These decisions call into question Judge Toal’s receivership appointments in other cases and all eyes will be on her handling of the litigation moving forward.  South Carolina’s asbestos environment first landed on the Judicial Hellholes® list in 2020, and since that time it has risen as high as #3 in the most recent report.  Over the years, Judge Toal has become more extreme, seemingly emboldened by a lack of oversight, but the tide may be turning. 

All eyes will be on Judge Toal on August 12 during a hearing where she will decide whether to comply with the recent South Carolina Supreme Court decisions and dissolve the receiverships or defy the Court and continue the lucrative scheme.