Asbestos Case Tracker

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January 25, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Other Asbestos News

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust Drops Under 20 Percent Ownership in Industries-Company, Files 13G Form

The Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust recently filed a SC 13G/A form. The form reported a decreased stake in the company by a total of -29.36 percent to 5,251,234 shares, leaving the Trust owning 9.5 percent of the Industrials-company. This form was required as a result of trading activity on December 31, 2015. …

January 22, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, New York, Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Awarded to Pump Manufacturer for Alleged Exposure to Pump Component Parts Manufactured by Third-Parties

In Holzworth v. Alfa Laval, et al. 12-CV-06088 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 21, 2016), Southern District of New York Judge John Keenan granted defendant Ingersoll-Rand’s summary judgment motion arising out of the plaintiff’s alleged exposure to asbestos aboard the U.S.S. Sheldrake. The plaintiff’s decedent had testified that he was exposed to pumps aboard the ship as a …

January 20, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Other Asbestos News

Honorable Garrett Wong Formally Takes the Reigns as San Francisco Asbestos Presiding Judge

On January 11, 2016, Judge Garrett L. Wong formally replaced the Honorable Teri L. Jackson as the San Francisco Superior Court Asbestos Presiding Judge. Judge Wong, a San Francisco native and alum of the University of California, has worked in civil and criminal litigation in the public and private sectors. He was originally appointed to …

January 19, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment

Foreseeability of Injury Nor a Special Relationship Existed to Create a Duty in Secondary Exposure Case

The plaintiff contracted mesothelioma and sued various defendants for asbestos exposure allegedly sustained as a child. Kuettel performed industrial and commercial insulation contracting work; the plaintiff’s father worked for Kuettel from 1961-65 and again from 1974-79. Kuettel moved for summary judgment, arguing it had no duty to warn the plaintiff because there was no special …

January 14, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Pennsylvania, Statute of Limitations, Summary Judgment

Granting of Summary Judgment Upheld on Appeal; Court Rules Time to File Suit Began with Prior Diagnosis of Asbestosis Based on Virginia Statute of Limitations

The plaintiff in this case alleges that the decedent, Vincent Gatto, was exposed to asbestos while self-employed as a brick mason in Virginia. The decedent was diagnosed with asbestosis in 2003 and then with mesothelioma in 2010. The action was filed in 2011. Following the close of discovery, several defendants moved for summary judgment “based …

January 13, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Consolidation, New York

NYCAL Court Permits Discovery of Non-Party Co-Author of Article Analyzing Verdicts in Association with Consolidated Trials

In this NYCAL case, Justice Peter Moulton denied the defendants’ motion seeking to quash a subpoena served by Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. upon Mr. Marc Scarcella of Bates, White LLC, an economic consulting firm. Mr. Scarcella co-authored an article entitled, “The Consolidation Effect: New York City Asbestos Verdicts, Due Process and Judicial Economy.” In summary, the …

January 13, 2016 • Alabama, Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, State, State>Alabama

Alabama District Court Refuses to Enter MDL 875’s Grant of Summary Judgment to Defendants as Final Judgment

The plaintiff brought an action in state court alleging defendants manufactured asbestos products, which caused her husband’s asbestosis and ultimate death. The defendants removed to federal court based on diversity, created after the state court severed the worker’s compensation and asbestos claims. The federal case contained only issues of asbestos injury and was transferred to …

January 11, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Legislative Updates

U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill to Add Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Further Asbestos Claim Transparency

On January 8, 2016, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill titled the “Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2016” in an effort to tighten standards for class certification in lawsuits and require asbestos bankruptcy trusts to publicize claimants’ details. Essentially, this bill requires that any party …

January 11, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, Summary Judgment, Wisconsin

In Case Where Steamfitter Worked on its Premises, Owner Denied Summary Judgment Based on the Wisconsin Safe Place to Work Statute

In yet another follow-up decision in the Ahnert case out of Wisconsin federal court, Pabst Brewing Company moved for summary judgment. As previously reported, Foster Wheeler was granted summary judgment, but insulation contractor, Sprinkmann Sons Corp. was denied summary judgment based on the Wisconsin statute of repose. The decedent was a union Steamfitter from 1955 …

January 11, 2016 • Asbestos Case Tracker, Case Decisions, FELA, Maritime/Admiralty Law, New York

Prior Release Found Inadequate to Dismiss Future Jones Act/FELA Claims Based on Development of Mesothelioma

In this NYCAL case, the Maritime Asbestos Legal Clinic originally filed a suit in 1997 on behalf of the decedent, Mason South, in the Northern District of Ohio. The decedent served in the Merchant Marines from 1945 to 1982. Less than two months later the case settled, with Texaco Inc. being one of the settled …