Asbestos Case Tracker

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February 19, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, New York, Pleadings Challenge

Airplane Manufacturer Granted Dismissal in N.Y. Federal Court Action for Lack of Jurisdiction Even Though Registered to do Business and Appointed an Agent for Service of Process

In this federal court case, it was alleged that the decedent, Walter Brown, was exposed to asbestos while serving as an airplane mechanic in the U.S. Air force from 1950-1970. During that time, he worked at various bases in Europe and in the U.S. in Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, and Michigan. Prior to …

February 19, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Discovery, Illinois, State, State>Illinois

Southern District of Illinois Strikes Portions of Pre-Trial Disclosures Containing Vague, Boilerplate Language; Parties Have No Right to Reserve Use of Un-Named Discovery

In four different rulings in the same case, the Southern District of Illinois struck portions of pre-trial disclosures filed by the plaintiff and various defendants. In their pre-trial disclosures, defendants Ingersoll-Rand, Viking Pumps, and Excelsior identified no witnesses and reserved the right to call numerous un-named witnesses at trial. The plaintiff also reserved the right …

February 18, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Expert Challenges, State>California

Daubert Challenge of Plaintiff’s Experts Denied in Career Boilermaker Case

The plaintiff in this case alleged that the decedent, Michael Walashek, was exposed to asbestos from various products while working as a boilermaker between 1967 and 1986 on various naval, commercial, and industrial vessels. The defendant, Foster Wheeler LLC, filed a motion to preclude the testimony of the plaintiff’s experts Dr. Edwin Holstein ad Dr. …

February 16, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, California, Case Decisions, Remand/Removal, State, State>California

Federal Court Remands Case to State Court Based on Plaintiff’s Waiver of Federal Claims Against Removing Defendant

On June 15, 2015, plaintiffs Charles Ford and Carol Ford filed an action in the Alameda County Superior Court alleging state law claims for Mr. Ford’s exposure to asbestos from numerous defendants. Defendant Foster Wheeler Energy removed the matter to federal court in November 2015 following Mr. Ford’s testimony that he worked aboard the USS …

February 16, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Bankruptcy, Case Decisions, Illinois, State, State>Illinois

Bankruptcy Stay Lifted Against Defendant/Debtor to Allow Plaintiffs to Pursue State Law Claims

In this case, the defendant that used asbestos in some of its production while in business filed chapter 11. There remained 123 claims against the defendant and the defendant’s proposed chapter 11 plan stated that the “liability issues will pass through the bankruptcy and be tried in non-bankruptcy courts having jurisdiction.” The defendant objected to …

February 11, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, New York, Pleadings Challenge

Defendants, Miners and Suppliers of Talc, Granted Motions to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Claim of Market Share Liability as Manufacturer of the Product was Identifiable

In this case, it is alleged that the plaintiff, Keri Logiudice, contracted mesothelioma from her use of Cashmere Bouquet cosmetic talcum powder. The defendants, Cyprus Amax Minerals and Imerys Talc America Inc., mined and supplied talc to Colgate, the manufacturer of Cashmere Bouquet, and moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s sixth cause of action for market …

February 11, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, State>California, Summary Judgment

In Fact-Intensive Unpublished Opinion, California Appeals Court Reverses Grant of Summary Judgment to Three of Four Automotive Defendants

In this unpublished opinion, the plaintiffs appealed after the trial court granted summary judgment to defendants Ford, Navistar, Gibbs International, and Kelsey-Hayes. The plaintiffs also filed motions for a new trial as to all four defendants, which the trial court denied. The decedent was a civilian employee at the Naval Construction Battalion Center; while he …

February 10, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Maritime/Admiralty Law, State>California, Summary Judgment

On Remand, Federal Court Again Grants Summary Judgment on Plaintiff’s Maritime and State Law Claims

In this federal court case, the court’s jurisdiction was based solely on the plaintiff’s assertion of maritime jurisdiction as set forth in in his fourth amended complaint. The plaintiff brought claims against 54 defendants that manufactured asbestos-containing products that the decedent, Christopher Curtis, was allegedly exposed to in three different situations: From 1955-58 while he …

February 9, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Insurance Coverage

Massachusetts Court Grants Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in Case Where Plaintiff Sought Reimbursement for Litigation Expenses in Asbestos-Related Cases

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund could not pierce the corporate veil or impose successor liability on a corporation that purchased the assets of another corporation, which was the subject of workplace injury claims based on exposure to asbestos and whose liability insurers had become …

February 8, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Delaware, Remand/Removal, State, State>Delaware

Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Denial of Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand in Two Cases Originating in Delaware

In two nearly identical cases from the District of Delaware, the magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation, recommending the denial of the plaintiffs’ motion to remand to state court. In the first case, the plaintiff husband and wife alleged that the husband developed mesothelioma through exposure to asbestos while serving as a boiler tender …