Rapid, which director and Vice President Paul Weiner said was never involved in asbestos-related business, inherited the litigation through a long series of acquisitions of businesses beginning with The Philip Carey Manufacturing Co.'s manufacture and sale of building products that contained asbestos in 1888, according to court filings.

Rapid currently faces approximately 275,000 personal injury claims, according to Weiner's declaration. Many of those are related to mesothelioma, a cancer that can develop in the lungs, stomach and heart.

The company listed between $50 million and $100 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in debt.

"Although total claims filed have declined in recent years, mesothelioma claims, which generally result in higher settlement values, now represent approximately 34 percent of newly filed claims against Rapid," Weiner said. "These facts, together with Rapid's dwindling insurance assets have led to this Chapter 11 filing."

Rapid's goal is to form a reorganization plan that will allow it to equitably distribute Rapid's remaining insurance money to current and future asbestos claimants, according to Weiner's filing. The company is "wholly dependent" on its insurance coverage to pay for defense costs and settlements associated with the asbestos litigation, Weiner said.

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