Asbestos Case Tracker

LATEST INSIGHTS

July 5, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Bankruptcy, Case Decisions, New York

Plaintiff Could Not Side-Step Manville Trust by Directly Suing Defendant Where Claim was a Pre-Petition Claim Subject to Discharge by Bankruptcy

The plaintiff, Lynda Berry, filed an asbestos lawsuit in Louisiana against Graphic Packaging International for mesothelioma due secondary exposure from her husband’s work at the Manville Forest Products (MFP) mill from 1961-2010. The plaintiff’s petition included claims against Manville for asbestos it produced, and claims against Graphic for negligently maintaining the premises. Graphic filed an …

July 2, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Documents and Resources

2016 Mid-Year Asbestos Case Tracker Compendium

Goldberg Segalla’s Asbestos Case Tracker blog has been hailed as the go-to resource for real-time access to all reported asbestos decisions from federal and state courts throughout the United States. Our blog also reports on legislative updates, significant verdicts, and other critical developments in the asbestos area. We have covered developing trends regarding cutting edge topics …

July 1, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Other Asbestos News

Madison County, IL Continues to Top the List for Asbestos Filings

According to a recent article published by the Madison County Record, Madison County, Illinois continues to top the list as the jurisdiction with the most asbestos filings nationally. Several Madison County firms (including Gori Julian & Associates, P.C., Simmons Hanly Conroy, and Maune Raichle) filed hundreds of asbestos cases in 2015 and appear on target …

June 30, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, New York, Statute of Limitations, Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Denied to Talc Defendant on Statute of Limitations, Burden of Proof, and Causation Issues

In this asbestos personal injury action the plaintiffs allege that Arlene Feinberg contracted mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos-contaminated talc from defendant Colgate-Palmolive Company’s Cashmere Bouquet. Colgate moved for summary judgment, arguing 1) the plaintiffs’ action is barred by the statute of limitations; 2) the plaintiffs failed to exclude other potential causes of Ms. Feinberg’s …

June 28, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Consolidation, New York

Duty to Warn Exists for Manufacturer of Products Required to be Used With Third Party Asbestos-Containing Products

Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation (Dummitt v A.W. Chesterton, et al.), June 28, 2016 The plaintiff, Doris Kay Dummitt, filed suit in the New York Supreme Court, alleging her husband, Ronald Dummitt, was diagnosed with and passed away from mesothelioma from asbestos exposure as a result of work as a Navy boiler technician …

June 28, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Consolidation, New York

Highest Court of New York Refuses to Consider Defendant’s Argument That Joint Trial was Improper Because Defendant Failed to Preserve Issue for Appeal

In the 1970s, the plaintiff’s decedent, Dave John Konstantin, worked as a carpenter at two Manhattan construction sites where defendant Tishman Liquidating Corporation (TLC) was the general contractor. The decedent died of mesothelioma in 2012. This case was assigned with nine other cases to an in extremis trial calendar; all 10 plaintiffs were represented by …

June 28, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Significant Verdicts

$22 Million Verdict Against Burnham in NYCAL Case

On June 24, 2016 a NYCAL jury awarded a plaintiff, Frank Gondar, $22 million. The award was broken down $12 million for past pain and suffering and $10 million for future pain and suffering. Mr. Gondar was living and had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. He owned a part-time construction company from 1953 to 1973 and …

June 27, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment, Wisconsin

Summary Judgment Reversed Where Court Finds Genuine Dispute as to Fraudulent Transfer of Assets

The plaintiff filed this personal injury lawsuit under theories of negligence and strict liability following the death of her husband from mesothelioma. The plaintiff maintained that her husband was exposed to asbestos-containing products allegedly manufactured and/or sold by Fire Brick Engineers Company, Inc. (FBE Company) from approximately 1963-69. In approximately 1983, Fire Brick Engineers Corporation …

June 23, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Expert Challenges, Louisiana, Summary Judgment

Preclusion of Plaintiff’s Causation Expert Upheld on Appeal Due to Failure to Consider Decedent’s Smoking History

The plaintiffs, Dwayne Bourdeaux, Gerilyn Cook, and Bryan Bourdeaux, Individually and as Proper Parties in Interest for Gerald Bourdeaux, filed suit in Louisiana alleging that Gerald Bourdeaux lung cancer diagnosis and eventual death was asbestos exposure. In support of this claim, the plaintiffs offered Dr. Gerald E. Liuzza, a pathologist, as an expert witness to …

June 23, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Expert Challenges, Motions in Limine, State>Florida

Federal Court Limits Plaintiff’s Expert, Dr. William Longo’s, Testimony

The plaintiff, Marsha K. Dugas, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Darryl S. Dugas, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division, alleging that Darryl Dugas developed mesothelioma from his exposure to asbestos during the late 1960s and early 1970s, while serving in the U.S. Navy and …