Exhibit 99


For Further Information:

Howard N. Feist
Chief Financial Officer
(609) 584-3586


               CONGOLEUM CORPORATION RETAINS NEW INSURANCE COUNSEL


MERCERVILLE, NJ, OCTOBER 20, 2005 - Congoleum Corporation (AMEX: CGM) announced
today that the law firm of Gilbert Heintz & Randolph will be withdrawing as
coverage counsel by mutual agreement following an appeals court ruling that it
had other representations which were in conflict with its representation of
Congoleum, and that Congoleum will be retaining the firm of Covington & Burling
to represent it on the insurance coverage litigation and insurance settlement
matters previously handled by Gilbert Heintz. The transition is subject to court
approval. The New Jersey firm of Dughi & Hewit will continue to serve as
co-counsel in Congoleum's coverage litigation.

Because of the time required to make the transition and to make any further
modifications to the plan that may be appropriate in light of the appeals court
ruling, Congoleum has asked the Bankruptcy Court to postpone its deadline for
submission of a revised plan until December 5, 2005. The company expects to
request a lengthier adjournment in its coverage case to facilitate the counsel
transition.

Roger S. Marcus, Chairman of the Board, commented, "We were disappointed in the
appeals court decision, because we believe Gilbert Heintz has done an
outstanding job on our behalf and we have enjoyed working with them. However, we
are fortunate to have retained another firm with significant capability and
expertise, and have the utmost confidence they will do a fine job working with
the Dughi & Hewit firm in dealing with our complex coverage litigation."

Mr. Marcus continued "We have asked the bankruptcy court for another month to
submit our revised plan. This time will allow us to deal with attorney
transition issues as well as any further plan modifications. In the mean time,
we are continuing forward with settlement negotiations in addition to the over
$164 million of insurance settlement agreements already in place. I remain
hopeful that we will have a plan confirmed in the first half of 2006."

Copies of the modified plan of reorganization and disclosure statement will be
filed by Congoleum with the Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to a
Form 8-K when they are available. They will also be available on the investor
relations section of Congoleum's website at www.congoleum.com.

On December 31, 2003, Congoleum Corporation filed a voluntary petition with the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey (Case No.
03-51524) seeking relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
as a means to resolve claims asserted against it related to the use of asbestos
in its products decades ago.



Congoleum Corporation is a leading manufacturer of resilient flooring, serving
both residential and commercial markets. Its sheet, tile and plank products are
available in a wide variety of designs and colors, and are used in remodeling,
manufactured housing, new construction and commercial applications. The
Congoleum brand name is recognized and trusted by consumers as representing a
company that has been supplying attractive and durable flooring products for
over a century. Congoleum is a 55% owned subsidiary of American Biltrite Inc.
(AMEX: ABL).

The above news release contains certain forward-looking statements, within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These statements can be identified by the
use of the words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "plan," "project" and other words of similar meaning. In particular,
these include statements relating to intentions, beliefs or current expectations
concerning, among other things, future performance, results of operations, the
outcome of contingencies such as bankruptcy and other legal proceedings, and
financial conditions. These statements do not relate strictly to historical or
current facts. These forward-looking statements are based on Congoleum's
expectations, as of the date of this release, of future events, and Congoleum
undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.
Although Congoleum believes that these expectations are based on reasonable
assumptions, within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations,
there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from
its expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. Any or all of these statements may turn out to be
incorrect. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may
or may not occur in the future. Any forward-looking statements made in this
press release speak only as of the date of such statement. It is not possible to
predict or identify all factors that could potentially cause actual results to
differ materially from expected and historical results. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ from expectations include: (i) the future cost and
timing of estimated asbestos liabilities and payments and availability of
insurance coverage and reimbursement from insurance companies that underwrote
the applicable insurance policies for asbestos-related claims and other costs
relating to the execution and implementation of any plan of reorganization
pursued by Congoleum, (ii) timely reaching agreement with other creditors, or
classes of creditors, that exist or may emerge, (iii) satisfaction of the
conditions and obligations under Congoleum's outstanding debt instruments, (iv)
the response from time-to-time of Congoleum's and its controlling shareholder's,
American Biltrite Inc.'s, lenders, customers, suppliers and other constituencies
to the ongoing process arising from Congoleum's strategy to settle its asbestos
liability, (v) Congoleum's ability to maintain debtor-in-possession financing
sufficient to provide it with funding that may be needed during the pendency of
its Chapter 11 case and exit financing sufficient to provide it with funding for
its operations after emerging from the bankruptcy process, in each case, on
reasonable terms, (vi) timely obtaining sufficient creditor and court approval
of any reorganization plan pursued by Congoleum, (vii) compliance with the
United States Bankruptcy Code, including Section 524(g), (viii) developments in,
and the outcome of, insurance litigation pending in New Jersey state court, (ix)
developments in, and the outcome of, proposed federal legislation that, if
adopted, would establish a national trust to provide compensation to victims of
asbestos-related injuries that would be funded by assessments against companies



with asbestos-related liabilities such as Congoleum, (x) increases in prices for
or shortages of raw materials, including those arising from the impact of recent
hurricanes, (xi) increased competitive activity from companies in the flooring
industry, some of which have greater resources and broader distribution channels
than Congoleum, (xii) increases in the costs of environmental compliance and
remediation or the exhaustion of insurance coverage for such expenses, (xiii)
unfavorable developments in the national economy or in the housing industry in
general, including developments arising from the war in Iraq, (xiv) shipment
delays, depletion of inventory and increased production costs resulting from
unforeseen disruptions of operations at any of Congoleum's facilities or
distributors, (xv) product warranty costs, and (xvi) changes in distributors of
Congoleum's products. In any event, if Congoleum is not successful in obtaining
sufficient creditor and court approval of its plan of reorganization, such
failure would have a material adverse effect upon its business, results of
operations and financial condition. Actual results could differ significantly as
a result of these and other factors discussed in Congoleum's annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and subsequent filings made by
Congoleum with the Securities and Exchange Commission.