Mealey's Asbestos
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June 22, 2018
Judge Finds Waiver Can’t Keep Asbestos Case Out Of Federal Court
BENTON, Ill. — A circular waiver of asbestos claims appears to exclude only those the plaintiff believes would result in federal officer removal because otherwise it would appear to leave her with no case, a federal judge in Illinois held June 19 (Janice Reinbold, et al. v. Advanced Auto Parts Inc., et al., No. 18-605, S.D. Ill., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102399).
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June 22, 2018
Plaintiffs’ Counsel Loses Bid To Stay Asbestos-Talc Agreement Discovery Order
NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge on June 20 declined to stay discovery into a plaintiff law firm’s referral deal in a New Jersey federal court case alleging that BASF Catalysts LLC and its law firm conspired to destroy evidence of asbestos contamination in talc (Kimberlee Williams, et al. v. BASF Catalysts LLC., et al., No. 11-1754, D. N.J.).
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June 21, 2018
Additional Expert Testimony Doesn’t Save Conspiracy Claim, Illinois Court Holds
OTTAWA, Ill. — Expert testimony indicating that companies redacted “significant evidence” of cancer causation from a study on asbestos in the 1940s does not permit a finding of civil conspiracy, an Illinois appeals court held June 19 (James Johnson, et al. v. Pneumo Abex LLC, et al., No. 3-16-0406, Ill App., 3rd Dist., 2018 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1035).
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June 21, 2018
Court: Social Security Records Sufficient Ground To Reject Workers’ Comp Claim
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An industrial commission properly relied on Social Security records showing limited income in concluding that a man had not worked for an employer long enough to satisfy the statutory requirements for a workers’ compensation claim and in rejecting expert testimony on causation, a North Carolina appeals court held June 19 (Kathy D. Carroll, et al. v. Johns Manville, et al., No. COA17-1172, N.C. App., 2018 N.C. App. LEXIS 594).
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June 21, 2018
TV, Radio Maker’s Asbestos Liabilities Fall On Ford, New York Justice Finds
NEW YORK — Ford Motor Co. may be held liable for asbestos claims arising from exposures caused by a television and radio manufacturer whose liabilities were transferred to several entities during various transactions, a New York justice held June 21 (Angela Gonzalez, et al. v. 3M Co., et al., No. 190113/16, N.Y. Sup., New York Co.).
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June 21, 2018
Federal Judge Rejects Sham Defendant Argument, Remands Asbestos-Pipe Case
OAKLAND, Calif. — An asbestos-pipe defendant eliminates potential exposures from an allegedly sham defendant for only a period of the time in question, a federal judge in California held June 19 in remanding a case (Angela D. Espinosa, et al. v. CertainTeed Corp., et al., No. 17-1833, N.D. Calif.).
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June 21, 2018
New York Justice Casts Away Boiler Maker’s Attempt To Stymie Asbestos Action
NEW YORK — Boiler maker Cleaver-Brooks Inc.’s contention that it didn’t manufacture cast-iron boilers for residential use is not enough to overcome evidence identifying its boilers and asbestos at worksites and the decedent’s inability to state what metal the products he encountered were made of, a New York justice held in an opinion posted June 18 (Paulette Koch Corsentino, et al. v. A.O. Smith Water Products, et al., No. 190044/2015, N.Y. Sup., New York Co., 2018 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2322).
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June 21, 2018
Valve Maker Can’t Escape New York Law, Refurbisher’s Asbestos Action
NEW YORK — New York procedural law, not Georgia substantive law, applies to a motion for summary judgment, and a valve maker has not met its burden of negating the possibility that its products contributed to a refurbisher’s asbestos-related injuries, a New York justice held in an opinion posted June 18 (Deborah Miller, et al. v. A.O. Smith Water Products Co., et al., No. 190257/2016, N.Y. Sup., New York Co., 2018 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2318).
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June 20, 2018
Shipbuilder Appeals Again, Wants Asbestos Negligence Case In Federal Court
NEW ORLEANS — Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Inc. on June 18 appealed yet another case in which it was denied federal jurisdiction over negligence claims involving its alleged mishandling of, and failure to warn about the dangers of, asbestos the U.S. Navy required for use in its ships (Gregory Brown v. Albert Bossier Jr., et al., No. 18-30730, 5th Cir.).
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June 19, 2018
Man: Asbestos Packaging Evidence Required Sending Failure-To-Warn Claim To Jury
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man’s ability to recall an asbestos-containing brake box’s design clearly indicates that he looked at the packaging and required sending failure-to-warn claims to a jury, a man tells a Florida appeals court in a June 14 reply brief (James W. Coates, et al. v. Honeywell International Inc., No. 4D17-1533, Fla. App., 4th Dist.).
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June 19, 2018
Ship Owners Fight Effort To Have 3rd Circuit Revive Maritime Asbestos Claims
PHILADELPHIA — A unique evidentiary situation sets three cases apart from others and warranted finding that asbestos maritime defendants had not waived personal jurisdiction defenses, ship owners tell the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a June 6 appellee brief (William D. Schroeder, et al. v. Charles Kurz & Co. Inc., No. 17-3471, 3rd Cir.).
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June 19, 2018
Civil Conspiracy Claim In Asbestos Talcum Powder Case Fails, Federal Judge Says
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Generic allegations regarding joint conduct fall short of a civil conspiracy claim, but allegations that an individual talcum powder defendant willfully ignored the dangers of asbestos support a punitive damages claim, a federal judge in North Carolina held June 7 (Lloyd Bell, et al. v. American International Industries, et al., No. 17-111, M.D. N.C., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96861).
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June 19, 2018
Shipbuilder: Previous Panels Didn’t Address 2011 Federal Officer Amendment
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals never directly addressed whether the 2011 amendment broadening the federal officer removal statute brought asbestos claims alleging negligent failure to warn and failure to implement safety standards under federal jurisdiction, a shipbuilder argues in a May 31 brief (Melancon v. Lamorak Ins. Co., No. 18-30113, 5th Cir.).
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June 19, 2018
California Court Considers Whether Workers’ Comp Law Covers Household Asbestos Claim
OAKLAND, Calif. — A California appellate court is set to decide whether the state’s workers’ compensation law exclusivity provision bars an action alleging both pre-employment household asbestos exposure and later exposures experienced during employment with the same company (Allen Rudolph, et al. v. Rudolph And Sletten Inc., No. A152601, Calif. App., 1st Dist.).
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June 19, 2018
Magistrate Judge Says Allegations Fall Short Of Asbestos Conspiracy Claim
WILMINGTON, Del. — Nothing in late-added allegations supports the conclusion that Crane Co. conspired with the U.S. Navy to hide the dangers of asbestos, a federal magistrate judge in Delaware said June 6 in recommending judgment for the defendant (Marguerite MacQueen v. Warren Pumps LLC, et al., No. 13-831, D. Del., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41749).
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June 19, 2018
Delaware Jury Hits Ford With $41.6M Asbestos Verdict
WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware jury on June 8 awarded a widow $40,625,000 in compensatory damages for her husband’s fatal mesothelioma, finding Ford Motor Co. 20 percent liable and following the award up with $1 million in punitive damages (Larry Knecht, et al. v. Borg-Warner Corp., et al., No. N14C-08-164, Del. Super., New Castle Co.).
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June 18, 2018
Judge: Weyerhaeuser Escapes Household, Environmental Asbestos Exposure Claims
MADISON, Wis. — A jury could not conclude from the presented evidence that household or environmental exposures to asbestos led to two individuals’ mesotheliomas, a federal judge in Wisconsin held June 8 in granting a premises owner summary judgment (Pamela Kilty, et al. v. Weyerhaeuser Co., et al., No. 16-515, Scott Spatz, et al. v. Weyerhaeuser Co., et al., No. 16-726, W.D. Wis.).
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June 18, 2018
Shipyard Wants Immediate En Banc Review Of Asbestos-Removal Standard Case
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should consider immediate en banc review to once and for all conclude that the plain meaning of a 2011 amendment to the federal office removal statute covers asbestos-related negligence claims, a shipyard tells the court in a June 8 brief (Raymond Burkhart Jr. v. Hungtingon Ingalls Inc., et al., No. 18-30458, 5th Cir.).
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June 13, 2018
Pennsylvania Court Affirms Asbestos Testimony, Evidence Insufficiency Rulings
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A man cannot challenge exclusion of testimony after failing to properly complain of the issue on appeal and has not demonstrated error in a trial court’s conclusion that evidence of exposure to asbestos was insufficient, a Pennsylvania appeals court held June 12 (Robert E. Eorio, et al. v. General Electric Co., et al., No. 1247 EDA 2017, Pa. Super., 2018 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2036).
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June 13, 2018
Printing Press Company Can’t Escape Man’s Asbestos Suit
NEW YORK — An affidavit largely details the period after a man’s alleged asbestos exposure and cannot free a printing press company from the lawsuit, a New York justice held in an opinion posted June 12 (Christine Capilets, et al. v. Aerco International, et al., No. 190060/2016, N.Y. Sup., New York Co., 2018 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2207).