Asbestos Case Tracker

LATEST INSIGHTS

July 21, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, California, Case Decisions, Damages, Punitive Damages, Verdict Reduction

Court Issues Significant Verdict Reduction Based in Part on Jury Error of Finding Intentional Misrepresentation and Fraudulent Concealment

In a case previously reported on in ACT, a California jury found for the plaintiffs, Louis Tyler and Elizabeth Tyler and against defendant American Optical Corporation (AOC), the lone defendant remaining at trial, with an award of $22.8 million. This award consisted of $1.8 million in economic damages (medical expenses, lost income, household services, etc.) …

July 18, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Kentucky

Kentucky Appellate Court Affirms Trial Court Finding of Plaintiff’s Failure to Establish Causation to Brake Defendants

The plaintiff Hershel Mannahan brought an action against the defendants for his alleged development of mesothelioma as a result of his work as a laborer, driller, oiler, truck driver, mechanic, and welder for Peabody Coal Mannahan worked as a welder for Peabody at the Vogue Mine from March 1974 to February 1977 and at Riverview …

July 18, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Louisiana, Remand/Removal

U.S. District Court Applies Foreign State Removal and Denies Plaintiff’s Motion for Remand

The plaintiff brought an action against multiple defendants for his alleged occupational exposure to lung cancer while working as a longshoreman for different stevedoring companies from 1954-1979. Included with the numerous defendants was Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, Ltd. (IDC) and South African Marine. The plaintiff’s claims included negligence, strict liability, intentional tort, and …

July 15, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Bare Metal/Component Parts, Case Decisions, Delaware, Summary Judgment

Various Manufacturers Granted Summary Judgment Under Mississippi Law, Including Acceptance of Bare Metal Defense

The plaintiff, Robert Lee Winhauer, commenced this action alleging asbestos exposure from his personal work on his automobiles from the 1940s through the 1990s, from his work at the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi from 1965 to 1976 and while working at Courtaulds North America Rayon Staple Plant in Le Moyne, Alabama from 1977 to …

July 15, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Indiana, Remand/Removal

Indiana Found to be Proper Venue in Federal Court Case that was Previously Transferred Based on Convenience and in the Interest of Justice

In this federal court case, the plaintiff, Clovis Aresnault, commenced an action in the Northern District of Indiana alleging exposure to asbestos while working in steel mills in Illinois and at a plant located both in Illinois and the Northern District of Indiana. The case was transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as part …

July 12, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Florida, Motions in Limine, Other Asbestos News

Certainteed Obtains Spoliation Charge on Missing Pipe and Defense Verdict Following Two-and-a-Half Week Trial

On July 7, 2016 a Florida jury rendered a defense verdict on behalf of building products manufacturer Certainteed Corporation (“Certainteed”). In this case, it was alleged that the decedent was exposed to asbestos and developed mesothelioma from his work cutting couplings on Certainteed asbestos-containing irrigation pipe next to his family property for an approximate two-week period in …

July 11, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Bankruptcy Trusts, Case Decisions, New York, Verdict Reduction

Appellate Court Grants New Trial Due to Lower Court’s Error on Jury Charge as to “Recklessness Standard”

In the matter of the Estate of Lee Holdsworth, in the Supreme Court of New York, Erie County (Lower Court), judgment was entered against the defendant Crane Co. upon a jury verdict finding that Crane Co. was 35 percent liable for the damages arising from injuries sustained by Lee Holdsworth (the plaintiff’s decedent) as a …

July 7, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Maryland

Court of Appeals Denies Plaintiff’s Request of Joinder for Claims Against Both Asbestos Tobacco Defendants

In an asbestos matter, 15 months after filing suit—after most of the deadlines for discovery and naming of witnesses had passed—the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint joining several tobacco companies on a theory of synergy. The plaintiff’s argued that their lung cancer was caused both by smoking and exposure to asbestos. The Circuit Court dismissed …

July 6, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Expert Challenges, Georgia

Supreme Court Finds Plaintiff’s Expert “Cumulative Exposure Theory” Does Not Fit Georgia Causation Standard and Reverses Judgment in Favor of Defendant

In a follow up to a case previously reported on in ACT, the Georgia Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the Court of Appeals of Georgia with respect to the admission of testimony from the plaintiff’s expert, Dr. Jerrod Abraham, and his “Cumulative Exposure Theory.” This case first commenced …

July 5, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Asbestos Litigation Analysis

What Does New York’s Decision on Duty to Warn Mean Going Forward in Asbestos Litigation?

New York’s highest court has imposed a duty on equipment manufacturers to warn about asbestos containing products manufactured by other manufacturers. This long-awaited decision now resolves the duty issue, but what does it mean going forward in asbestos litigation? On June 28, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in the Dummitt/Suttner cases that …