Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of New York, New York County Plaintiff Lita Goldstein was diagnosed in March 2022 with mesothelioma. She initiated a suit against several defendants in May 2022, including Kolmar Laboratories Inc. Kolmar moved for summary judgment on two points. First, it argued plaintiff failed to establish she was exposed to any asbestos-containing product manufactured … Continued
In the recent Agnew decision, the court had to decide on National Tinsel’s motion to dismiss. National Tinsel is an artificial snow company incorporated in Wisconsin which was being sued in New York. National Tinsel filed for corporate dissolution, which began in June 2021 when it was published for state-wide circulation. Per Wisconsin statute, this … Continued
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division Decedent Carole Zicklin passed away from mesothelioma in September 2021. The decedent’s daughters subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a number of defendants, including PTI Union, LLC. The lawsuit alleged that the decedent was exposed to asbestos from talcum powder products that she … Continued
Court: U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware Avon Products Inc., a U.S.-based “non-operational” holding company, announced Monday that it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to “address its debt and legacy talc liabilities.” In recent years, hundreds of talc lawsuits have been filed against Avon. Its court filings state the company no longer … Continued
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of New York, New York County Defendant Kennedy Electrical Supply Corp. moved for summary judgment seeking to dismiss this action on the grounds that plaintiff was not exposed to asbestos from any Kennedy products during his employment with Con Edison from 1963 through 2005. Specifically, Kennedy argued that because plaintiff recanted his identification of … Continued
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of New York, New York County Defendant Atwood & Morrill Co. Inc. moved for summary judgment to dismiss this action on the grounds that plaintiff Giuseppe Rullo was not exposed to asbestos-containing pumps manufactured by Atwood during the course of his work at Con Ed from 1969 to 1979. Specifically, defendant’s motion rested … Continued
Through the modern industrial age, there’s always been a push-and-pull between the utility of our innovations and the risks they often inadvertently create. In the 70’s, we discovered the synthetic pesticide that was so effectively combating typhus and malaria, DDT, was causing breast cancer and impairing neurological development in babies. In the 80’s and 90’s, … Continued
On June 25, 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an opinion affirming the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court’s decision to dismiss LTL Management/Johnson & Johnson’s second bankruptcy case for “want of good faith because it was not in financial distress” in IN RE: LTL Management, LLC. In 2021, Johnson & Johnson first attempted to … Continued
Court: Circuit Court of Cook County A Cook County jury on July 29 returned a Plaintiff’s verdict after a weeks-long trial against personal care and cosmetic manufacturer Avon Products Inc. Plaintiff Cipriano Ramirez worked as a janitor at an Avon facility in Morton Grove, Illinois in the 1980s. The facility produced various products, including … Continued
As coastal erosion continues to shrink beaches, the sand that remains has become ever more valuable; and in Maine, a battle over the beach has reached the state’s highest court. In most coastal states, the intertidal land — (the land subject to the ebb and flow of the tides) — is owned by the state … Continued