A joint statement from the appellants' legal advisers, Eversheds and Berrymans Lace Mawer, over the House of Lords ruling on asbestosis has called the decision a "balanced solution".
The House of Lords decision (3 May 2006) in the case of Barker v Corus and others has ruled that damages in mesothelioma claims should be split between compensating employers.
The statement said: “The Lords decision today in favour of apportionment represents a balanced solution to the practical problems caused in applying the joint & several liability that resulted from the Fairchild decision in 2002.
It continued: "For claimants, today's decision on apportionment will be softened by the application of the 1979 Pneumoconiosis Act payments. And furthermore, it will now be easier for compensators to deal with these claims and to make compensation payments more quickly.
"The most efficient employers and insurers should act quickly to pay their apportioned shares of these claims, as they no longer have to be delayed by the slowest party.”
