Real-Time Court Decisions and Other Developments in Asbestos Litigation.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, August 24, 2020 On August 24, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision upholding a $32.7 million damage award rendered by a North Carolina jury in the matter of Finch v. Covil. The Finch matter involved a 78-year-old deceased mesothelioma claimant, …
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York, August 6, 2020 The Appellate Division of the First Department of New York vacated a $13 million award in a mesothelioma case, stating that the award deviated from what would be “reasonable compensation” for the claims. During the initial trial, the jury awarded $4 million for future …
U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota In Kotalik v. A.W. Chesterton Co., several defendants filed motions to enforce the plaintiffs’ compliance with disclosure requirements of North Dakota’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Transparency Act. Counsel for the defendants as well as plaintiffs moved the court for a hearing on the issue. Lastly, plaintiffs’ counsel …
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, July 29, 2020 Plaintiff John Pruitt filed this asbestos lawsuit alleging he contracted mesothelioma from occupational exposure to asbestos. The plaintiff served in the Navy from September 1959 to April 1962. Upon his discharge from the Navy, he worked at Schroer, a John Deere farm equipment dealership …
U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, July 29, 2020 On February 28, 2019, plaintiffs John Castro and Joyce Castro commenced this products liability action in state court against defendants, including CVS Pharmacy, alleging that Mr. Castro was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos from his use of asbestos-contaminated talc products. …
In Hatten v. Grobet United States, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona recently ruled on a defendant’s motion to remove the case to federal court. In this case, plaintiff Renee Hatton alleged that as a result of the defendants’ actions, her mother contracted mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos-containing products between 1977 and …
On July 13, 2020, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced four appointments to fill vacancies in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, in the First Department of New York State. Two of those appointees are no strangers to New York Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL), Judge Martin Shulman and Judge Manuel Mendez. NYCAL has one of the most …
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, July 21, 2020 Decedent Thomas Gorton, the husband of plaintiff Rhonda J. Gorton, developed mesothelioma, allegedly due to his occupational exposure to defendants’ asbestos-containing products. Prior to trial, defendant Eaton Corporation, as successor-in-interest to Cutler-Hammer filed a Motion to Exclude the Expert Testimony of the plaintiff’s …
In a case previously covered by Asbestos Case Tracker, the court granted plaintiff’s motion to remand after Avondale removed this case to federal court. In this instant matter, defendant Avondale again removed this case relying on the Fifth Circuit’s opinion in Latiolais v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc., a case in which it overturned the court’s prior …
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, July 13, 2020 In the instant complaint, Marcela Lopez, the decedent’s wife and Federico Lopez III, the decedent’s surviving child, allege that Federico Lopez was exposed to asbestos-containing products while employed as a welder/pipefitter at Kellog Brown and Root between 1973 and 1986 and that he …