加州联合21州向联邦最高法院递交法庭之友书状：质疑「德州两步」破产手法 Herlihy 案
加州总检察长 Rob Bonta 10月23日宣布，加州联合另外21个州的总检察长向美国联邦最高法院递交法庭之友书状，要求法院审理 Herlihy v. DBMP 一案，并质疑被称为「德州两步」（Texas Two-Step）的破产操作手法。
本案源于建材企业 CertainTeed 于2019年利用德州分裂式合并法，将其石棉相关负债转入新设子公司 DBMP Solutions。DBMP 于2020年在北卡罗来纳州申请破产后，针对 CertainTeed 的石棉索赔诉讼随之被冻结，迄今已逾五年，而 CertainTeed 本身并未申请破产。
联邦第四巡回上诉法院于2026年2月裁定维持该冻结。石棉索赔人已于2026年9月向联邦最高法院申请复审。此案与第三巡回上诉法院此前对强生公司类似操作的裁定存在分歧。
Bonta 与各州在书状中主张，「德州两步」手法使企业在不申请破产的情况下冻结受害者的索赔、拖延赔偿，剥夺了石棉受害者及时获得救济的权利，应予禁止。
来源：GSM·美国
California Joins 21 States in Supreme Court Amicus Brief Challenging 'Texas Two-Step' Bankruptcy Tactic in Herlihy Case
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on October 23 that California has joined the attorneys general of 21 other states in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Herlihy v. DBMP and reject the bankruptcy maneuver known as the "Texas Two-Step."
The case stems from building-products maker CertainTeed's 2019 use of a Texas divisional merger to shift its asbestos liabilities into a newly created subsidiary, DBMP Solutions. When DBMP filed for bankruptcy in North Carolina in 2020, asbestos lawsuits against CertainTeed were frozen — a stay that has now lasted more than five years — while CertainTeed itself never filed for bankruptcy.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the stay in February 2026. Asbestos claimants petitioned the Supreme Court for review in September 2026. The case presents a split with the Third Circuit's earlier rulings against a similar maneuver by Johnson & Johnson.
In the brief, Bonta and the states argue that the Texas Two-Step lets companies halt victims' claims and delay compensation without filing for bankruptcy themselves, depriving asbestos victims of timely relief, and should not be permitted.
Source: GSM · USA
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：加州总检察长 Rob Bonta（左）与州长纽森（右）（资料图）（图：Wikimedia Commons，公共领域）
