Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, January 5, 2022 In this asbestos action, the plaintiff Lennard Stansbury claims that he developed mesothelioma following asbestos exposure while working at several jobsites in the New Orleans area from approximately 1966 until the late 1970s. Stansbury filed his complaint in November 2020 and was deposed …
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, December 22, 2021 On December 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a landmark decision in the matter of Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company, holding that Pennsylvania’s general jurisdiction statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5301(a)(2), which conveys general jurisdiction over foreign corporations who register to do business in the Commonwealth, is …
On Wednesday, December 29, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the draft scope of the “Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos”. While more than 60 nations have comprehensive asbestos bans, the United States is undergoing a lengthy asbestos “risk evaluation”. As Part …
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, December 21, 2021 The plaintiff filed a complaint against CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) pursuant to the Federal Employers’ Liability Act alleging that his employment-based exposure to asbestos, diesel exhaust/fumes, and second-hand smoke either caused or contributed to the development of his colon cancer. The plaintiff worked for CSXT and its predecessors …
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, December 20, 2021 The plaintiff filed suit alleging that he was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos spanning from the 1950s to 1980s, including take-home exposure from his father’s and brother’s work at Avondale Shipyards, personal exposure from his own work at …
Supreme Court of New York, New York County, December 6, 2021 Defendants American Biltrite and Mannington Mills moved to reargue their motions for summary judgment, arguing that the court overlooked and misapprehended facts in denying the same. On the motions to reargue, the court first found that both defendants failed to establish that the court …
Supreme Court of New York, New York County, December 2, 2021 The defendant, Jenkins Bros, moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. Specifically, Jenkins argued that it is not incorporated in New York, does not have its headquarters in New York, and does not maintain its principal place of business in …
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, December 14, 2021 An insurance coverage dispute arose out of an action by Northshore School District against Beresford for a construction project in which Beresford allegedly improperly and negligently disturbed asbestos-containing materials requiring extensive remediation, cleaning, and repairs. Beresford tendered its defense to Travelers, which denied …
Court of Appeals of Washington, Division One, December 14, 2021 From the mid-1950s until 1988, ExxonMobil operated a refinery in Ferndale, Washington. In 1979, Northwestern Industrial Maintenance (NWIM) contracted with Mobil to perform maintenance jobs at the Mobil refinery in Ferndale. NWIM employed the decedent, Warren Wright, as a working foreman at the Ferndale facility. …
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, December 2, 2021 In this matter the plaintiff, Darlene Data, sued numerous defendants on behalf of her husband, Michael Data, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2019 and died on February 6, 2020. Mr. Data served in the United States Navy from June 1969 to …