Hopeman Brothers, Inc., a legacy marine joinery contractor that ceased operations in 2003, filed chapter 11 on June 30, 2024 in the Eastern District of Virginia to resolve approximately 126,000 asbestos-related personal injury claims and monetize remaining insurance coverage. The company has no employees or operating business and exists solely to defend and settle asbestos claims. Annual cash burn exceeds $5.5 million (2023: $12 million in claims/defense costs less $6.6 million insurance recoveries), and the filing was driven by exhaustion of Liberty Mutual primary and excess coverage. The case pivoted from an initial liquidation trust structure to a mediated 524(g) settlement with the debtor, the Official Committee, and Huntington Ingalls Industries, creating a section 524(g) qualified asbestos trust funded by Chubb insurers ($31.5 million) and Certain Settling Insurers ($18.395 million), plus remaining insurance rights. Proposed findings were filed October 31, 2025, reporting 2,409 of 2,416 Class 4 ballots in favor (99.71% in number and amount), and the automatic stay protecting insurers and directors extends through March 19, 2026 pending district court confirmation.
