Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.
Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Central District of California In this action, the plaintiffs filed suit on behalf of the decedent, William Banks, in Los Angeles County Superior Court and thereafter removed the case to federal court. The plaintiffs pursued survival and wrongful death causes of action based on Banks’ alleged exposure to …
Plaintiff Marvin Evans was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2022. Subsequently, the plaintiff sued a number of defendants in the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish, alleging that his lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos during his employment as a boilermaker with various companies between 1969 and 1980. The case was eventually …
Supreme Court of New York, New York County (NYCAL) In this asbestos action, plaintiff Thomas Bassier alleged that he suffered injury as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products manufactured by various companies during his time employed as an electrician. In response, one of the defendants, Burnham, LLC, filed a motion for summary judgment arguing …
Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County (NYCAL) Plaintiff John B. Daly, Jr. worked as a mechanic for Consolidated Edison Company from 1976 to 2012. He alleged exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets affiliated with regulators manufactured by Fisher Controls International LLC during this period. Fisher filed a motion for partial summary …
Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York City — and New York City Asbestos Litigation or NYCAL — continues to hold its position as a judicial hellhole in 2024. However, New York City was once ranked second; it is now ranked third, so perhaps this can be considered an improvement. The 2023-2024 Judicial Hellholes report is intended to …
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Plaintiff Harry Marsh worked as a merchant mariner from 1944 to 1992. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2018 and subsequently sued the owner of every vessel he worked on over his lengthy career. Defendants included appellees Chas Kurz & Co. Inc., Chiquita Brands International Inc., Farrell …
Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County (NYCAL) This asbestos matter involves a motion filed by plaintiff to consolidate two asbestos actions. In New York, “when actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before a court, the court, upon motion . . . may order the …
Court: Supreme Court of South Carolina In this mesothelioma matter, the Supreme Court of South Carolina granted a writ of certiorari to review decisions of the South Carolina Court of Appeals affirming (1) the trial court’s denial of Scapa Waycross Inc.’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict based on the insufficiency of the evidence as …
Court: Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District, Houston In this asbestos action, a Texas Appellate Court reversed and remanded the grant of a no-evidence summary judgment motion as to defendant Howmet Aerospace Inc., f/k/a Arconic, Inc., f/k/a Alcoa, Inc. (“Alcoa”). The surviving husband and children of decedent Carolyn Burford asserted wrongful death and survival …
Court: Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department In this asbestos action, defendant Jenkins Bros. sought a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a new trial, or remittitur of a verdict awarding plaintiff $13 million for past pain and suffering and $10 million for future pain and suffering. The trial court declined to vacate the …