Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.
On August 29, 2014, Judge Barbara Jaffe entered an order granting defendant Consolidated Edison’s (Con Edison) post-trial motion to set aside a verdict against it and direct that judgment be entered in its favor. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, issued an a decision on January 10, 2017. The …
The plaintiff alleged asbestos exposure through his work as a roofer, maintenance man, and carpenter. The defendants submitted a joint motion in limine to preclude certain evidence. The court issued various rulings, summarized below. First, the defendants asserted that Dr. Jacqueline Moline would offer a scientifically unsupportable causation opinion that every occupational exposure was a …
Plaintiff Dario Battistoni worked as a butcher at a delicatessen in Queens, New York, from 1979 to 1980, and later worked as a butcher and banquet chef in kitchens at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California from 1980 to 1999. The plaintiff claims that at those jobs he worked with commercial kitchen equipment, …
A jury found defendant Dana Companies not negligent in manufacturing and/or selling asbestos containing gaskets without adequate warning in a recent New York mesothelioma case despite a finding of exposure to the defendant’s gaskets. The plaintiff, Michael Colsten, claimed exposure to asbestos while working as an automotive mechanic at General Tire from 1965 through 1969 and …
The plaintiff was a police officer for the City of Buffalo from 1968-1995. In 2012, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and filed this proceeding asking permission to serve a late notice of claim against the city. The plaintiff alleged asbestos exposure during his work at properties owned by the city and by the Board of …
Plaintiff Lori LoGiudice developed mesothelioma and brought suit, alleging her disease was caused by her use of asbestos-containing Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder made by Colgate-Palmolive. The only other defendants were suppliers of asbestos-containing talc to Colgate. After the Special Master denied certain discovery requests made by the plaintiff, the plaintiff moved for relief. The court …
Plaintiffs Patrick and Joy Demartino brought suit against various defendants after Patrick Demartino developed mesothelioma. Defendant Aurora Pump Company moved for summary judgment, arguing that it did not use or sell external asbestos-containing gaskets. The court denied this motion. It was undisputed that during the plaintiff’s time of alleged exposure to Aurora pumps while working …
Plaintiff-Decedent William Holzworth filed suit against various defendants in the New York Supreme Court on July 9, 2012 alleging personal injuries pursuant to his diagnosis of mesothelioma allegedly caused by his occupational exposure to asbestos. Specifically, Holzworth alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products during this employment, both as a sonarman serving in the U.S. Navy between …
Relying on Koulermos v. A.O. Smith Water Prods., the New York Appellate Division, First Department upheld the trial court’s denial of summary judgment. The court found that the trial court used the correct standard and that Cleaver Brooks failed to put forth evidence illustrating how it was entitled to summary judgment. Read the decision here. Read …
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York issued three decisions rejecting appeals of Crane Co. arising from verdicts for Plaintiffs in three separate trials out of New York County. In Peraica v. A.O. Smith, et al., a jury on December 3, 2013 awarded the plaintiffs $9,900,000 for past pain and suffering against …