Asbestos-related lawsuits that many believed would run their courses in the late 1990s might not be front and center in the news media these days, but rest assured, those companies who faced incredible numbers of lawsuits, such as Georgia Pacific, haven’t forgotten; nor have they forgotten what their economic future might mean.

Georgia Pacific, Georgia’s fifth-largest public company, has running reserves to maintain the hundreds of thousands of lawsuits that are pending or that it anticipates will be filed. According to National Economic Research Associates, Inc. (NERA), Georgia Pacific’s indemnity payments through the year 2014 are sufficient. In 2004, GP paid claims that totaled just over $200 million dollars to plaintiffs, up from $189 in 2003. Not surprising, the attorney’s fees have increased each year as the company became more aggressive in its approach to the higher monetary demands many plaintiffs are seeking. Part of this new aggressive campaign is the inclusion of medical personnel on its payrolls used in the discovery phases. As a result, Georgia Pacific has been able to maintain an average of $11 million per year through 2014 that’s earmarked for lawsuit payouts.

Georgia Pacific has stated in past annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it maintains “insurance available in amounts that it believes are adequate to cover substantially all of the reasonably foreseeable damages and settlement amounts arising out of claims and suits…” The SEC agrees.

In a poor economic environment, it’s become increasingly uncommon for even the largest of companies to receive favorable outlooks, yet Georgia Pacific has maintained its B+ rating despite the asbestos links that’s cost the company millions of dollars.