General Motors Corporation Asbestos Trust Claims

General Motors Asbestos Trust Facts

Old GM, New GM and Motors Liquidation

The General Motors name requires an important bankruptcy distinction. The company that filed Chapter 11 in 2009 was the former General Motors Corporation, commonly called “Old GM.” The Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of substantially all Old GM operating assets to a new company in July 2009. That purchaser later became General Motors Company, commonly called “New GM.”

Old GM was renamed Motors Liquidation Company. Federal government records explain that MLC was the entity used to address remaining Old GM liabilities. When MLC’s bankruptcy plan was confirmed, one of the resulting trusts was established specifically to handle present and future asbestos-related personal-injury claims.

Accordingly, this page uses the reader-recognizable General Motors name but identifies the formal asbestos entity correctly as the MLC Asbestos PI Trust. It should not be confused with New GM or with the separate environmental-response trust created in the same bankruptcy.

GM Bankruptcy and Trust History

General Motors Corporation and three affiliates filed Chapter 11 on June 1, 2009 in the Southern District of New York. The lead case became In re Motors Liquidation Company, Case No. 09-50026.

The Bankruptcy Court confirmed MLC’s reorganization plan on March 29, 2011. The governing Trust Agreement formally created the MLC Asbestos PI Trust to assume responsibility for PI Trust Claims, process and pay those claims under the Trust Distribution Procedures, and preserve and manage Trust assets for present and future claimants.

The Trust Agreement also makes an unusual but important legal distinction: the MLC Trust was intended to operate as a qualified settlement fund, but the Agreement states that the Plan and Trust did not satisfy all prerequisites for a Bankruptcy Code section 524(g) injunction and that no such injunction was entered with the Confirmation Order.

Auto Mechanic Asbestos Claims

The MLC Trust’s procedures specifically recognize Auto Mechanic Claims. This is particularly relevant to workers who encountered asbestos-containing automotive friction products during brake, clutch and related vehicle repair work connected to covered Old GM liabilities.

The November 2, 2020 TDP publishes a distinct Auto Mechanic claim schedule rather than simply treating every mechanic claim under the general disease schedule. The published Auto Mechanic schedule includes separate values based on the applicable disease category and Trust criteria.

A history of working on General Motors vehicles does not by itself establish a Trust claim. The claimant must satisfy the governing medical and exposure criteria and establish exposure falling within the liability assumed by the MLC Asbestos PI Trust.

Need help now? Call 800.291.0963
Live chat available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Submit Your Case

Published MLC Disease Values

The currently posted Trust Distribution Procedures, updated November 2, 2020, publish separate values for Auto Mechanic Claims and Other Claims. For Other Claims, the TDP lists the following underlying values:

The TDP provides for annual CPI-U adjustments beginning in 2017. Because a separate current 2026 inflation-adjusted value table was not located among the authorized public MLC documents reviewed for this build, the figures above are labeled as the underlying published TDP values rather than represented as inflation-adjusted 2026 values.

Current 10.3% Payment Percentage

An authorized MLC Trust notice dated December 3, 2025 states that the Payment Percentage applicable to MLC Asbestos PI Trust claims was reduced to 10.3%. The notice explains that the Trustee proposed the reduction and that, while the required consent process was pending, claims would be paid using 10.3%. If a higher percentage were ultimately adopted, affected claimants would receive the difference.

The previous published rate was 12.2%. The current claims website continues to display the December 3, 2025 notice as the latest MLC Payment Percentage change.

Mathematical illustration only — not a guaranteed payment. Using the underlying TDP Other Claims Mesothelioma Scheduled Value of $20,000, $20,000 × 10.3% = $2,060. Because the TDP requires annual CPI-U adjustments, this illustration deliberately uses the labeled underlying TDP value and should not be mistaken for a current inflation-adjusted claim offer.

Medical and Exposure Requirements

The MLC TDP establishes disease-specific medical and exposure requirements. The criteria differ depending on whether a claim qualifies under the Auto Mechanic schedule or another claim category.

For several general disease categories, the TDP requires qualifying Debtor Exposure before December 31, 1982, together with disease-specific medical evidence. Certain cancers and severe asbestosis also require Significant Occupational Exposure and supporting medical evidence linking asbestos exposure to the disease.

The Trust distinguishes disease categories and claim types, so a claimant should not assume that a value published for an “Other Claim” automatically applies to an Auto Mechanic Claim. The correct schedule, medical criteria, exposure history and review method must be applied to the individual claim.

Current Claim Filing and Administration

The authorized MLC document center is maintained by Claims Resolution Management Corporation. It currently provides the MLC Proof of Claim Form dated February 15, 2023, filing instructions, Indirect Claim materials, payment-percentage notices, ADR procedures and the November 2, 2020 Trust Distribution Procedures.

The Trust’s procedures provide Expedited Review for qualifying scheduled claims and Individual Review where applicable, as well as procedures for specialized claims and dispute resolution.

The Southern District of New York bankruptcy docket shows that the MLC Asbestos PI Trust filed its annual report and audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 on April 30, 2026. The underlying annual-report exhibits were not independently extracted from an official public copy during this build, so this page does not state current assets, cumulative dollars paid or lifetime claim counts based solely on secondary summaries.

Confirmed Primary Sources for Trust Facts

No law-firm or lead-generation website was used as factual authority for this page. Primary and government materials reviewed include:

• SEC-filed MLC Asbestos PI Trust Agreement identifying Motors Liquidation Company as formerly General Motors Corporation and formally creating the MLC Asbestos PI Trust.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency summary of the General Motors / Motors Liquidation bankruptcy and resulting trust structure.
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York General Motors bankruptcy records.
• Claims Resolution Management Corporation, the authorized asbestos trust claims-processing site.
• Official MLC Trust document center containing current claim forms, notices and governing procedures.
• Official December 3, 2025 MLC Payment Percentage notice establishing the 10.3% rate used during the redetermination process.
• Official MLC Asbestos PI Trust Distribution Procedures, updated November 2, 2020.

Get Help Reviewing a General Motors / MLC Asbestos Claim

Call 800.291.0963

Live chat is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Submit Your Case

Working for General Motors, repairing GM vehicles or handling automotive friction products does not automatically establish asbestos exposure, MLC Trust eligibility or compensation. Eligibility depends on the applicable claim category, diagnosis, qualifying covered exposure, medical evidence, current Trust procedures and individual circumstances. Compensation is not guaranteed.