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To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (4494)	10/3/2002 1:32:13 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57110

interesting... Owens Corning Sues Over Dividends 10/03/2002 11:58:35 EST TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Owens Corning, which filed for bankruptcy two years ago, wants its biggest shareholders to give back more than $700 million in stock dividends they received between 1996 and 2000. The company filed lawsuits Wednesday asking for the payouts to be returned by mutual-fund managers and investors who received more than $100,000 in stock dividends during the four-year period. The suits were filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. In total, they are seeking $709 million to help pay off creditors and asbestos victims. The Toledo-based building supply maker filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2000 because of rising costs from asbestos lawsuits. It stopped selling insulation that contained asbestos 25 years ago. The lawsuits filed this week say that the company may have been technically insolvent much earlier because of asbestos liability. "This is highly unusual," said Louis Solimini, a Cincinnati bankruptcy lawyer not involved in the case. "Generally, a company satisfies itself at the time of payment that it is solvent and able to pay dividends." Owens Corning said it was pressured to file the lawsuit by its creditors and that it was facing a statute of limitations deadline. "We're trying to preserve our right to continue to evaluate the question of solvency," said spokesman Stephen Krull. The company is also seeking money from stockholders of the former Fibreboard Corp., which had huge asbestos liabilities when Owens Corning bought it for $55 a share. Owens Corning said it does not know the identities or total number of all of the shareholders affected by the lawsuits.