866
Breyer, J., dissenting
Cert. 248a-468a. The Court of Appeals, dividing 2 to 1, held that the settlement was lawful. In re Asbestos Litigation, 134 F. 3d 668 (CA5 1998). I would not set aside the Court of Appeals' judgment as the majority does. Accordingly, I dissent.
I
A
Four special background circumstances underlie this settlement and help to explain the reasonableness and consequent lawfulness of the relevant District Court determinations. First, as the majority points out, the settlement comprises part of an "elephantine mass of asbestos cases," which "defies customary judicial administration." Ante, at 821. An estimated 13-to-21 million workers have been exposed to asbestos. See Report of the Judicial Conference Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos Litigation 6-7 (Mar. 1991) (hereinafter Report). Eight years ago the Judicial Conference spoke of the mass of related cases having "reached critical dimensions," threatening "a disaster of major proportions." Id., at 2. In the Eastern District of Texas, for example, one out of every three civil cases filed in 1990 was an asbestos case. See id., at 8. In the past decade nearly 80,000 new federal asbestos cases have been filed; more than 10,000 new federal asbestos cases were filed last year. See U. S. District Courts Civil Cases Commenced by Nature of Suit, Administrative Office of the Courts Statistics (Dec. 31, 1994-1998) (Table C2-A) (hereinafter AO Statistics).
The Judicial Conference found that asbestos cases on average take almost twice as long as other lawsuits to resolve. See Report 10-11. Judge Parker, the experienced trial judge who approved this settlement, noted in one 3,000-member asbestos class action over which he presided that 448 of the original class members had died while the litigation was pending. Cimino v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 751 F. Supp. 649, 651 (ED Tex. 1990). And yet, Judge Parker
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