Mealey's Asbestos
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January 17, 2024
Connecticut Top Court Won’t Review Certain Injury Asbestos Workers’ Comp Case
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Supreme Court on Jan. 16 denied a petition for review in a case allowing a worker’s asbestos tort claims, turning away the argument that expanding the substantial-certainty doctrine in workers’ compensation cases to allow asbestos exposure cases could flood the state’s courts with tort actions currently handled through the dedicated asbestos workers’ compensation docket.
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January 16, 2024
J&J, Asbestos-Talc Fraud Plaintiffs Reach Settlement In Principle
TRENTON, N.J. — A class action claiming that Johnson & Johnson defrauded tort litigants by withholding information about the presence of asbestos in talc appears to have resolved after a federal judge in New Jersey on Jan. 12 entered a text order on the docket administratively terminating pending motions to dismiss or strike the class clams after being told that the parties reached a settlement in principle.
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January 16, 2024
Widow Urges Expedited Review, Warns Ruling Could Eliminate Asbestos Damages
BOSTON — When a judge postponed an asbestos trial he warned the parties that he would not grant future motions, necessitating expedited review of an issue that could be used to “minimize liability to a practical nullity in all asbestos cases involving the widows of Navy veterans,” a widow tells the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a motion to expedite her appeal.
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January 12, 2024
Punitive Damages Claim Survives Summary Judgment In California Asbestos Case
LOS ANGELES — A punitive damage claim in an asbestos-exposure case against Hajoca Corp. will proceed to trial after a judge in California denied summary judgment after crediting allegations that the defendant took no steps to ensure the safety of its products despite lawsuits reaching back to the 1970s that put it on notice about potential hazards.
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January 11, 2024
California Judge Won’t Tax Some Asbestos Costs, Lets Juror Prejudice Ruling Stand
LOS ANGELES — A California judge said he already largely discounted a juror’s declaration before finding that there was no prejudice from comments made during deliberation in an asbestos case and that he would deny reconsideration, while in a second ruling said a prevailing party is entitled to expert fees are available even when an expert doesn’t testify.
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January 09, 2024
Illinois Jury Awards $30M In Household Asbestos Exposure Case
CHICAGO — An Illinois jury awarded $30 million to a widow whose husband experienced exposure to talc used at a tire manufacturing facility and who died of mesothelioma five weeks after his diagnosis, sources told Mealey Publications.
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January 09, 2024
Plaintiff/Defense Experts Testifying Since Jan. 1, 2002
The following is a listing of plaintiff and defense experts who testified in trials covered by Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos since Jan. 1, 2002.
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January 09, 2024
Illinois Court Reverses Live Witness Testimony Requirement After Asbestos Verdict
CHICAGO — A trial court improperly required in-person testimony from a witness whose testimony regarding work conditions at a facility appears crucial to the case when a remote appearance could just as easily have been accommodated, an Illinois appeals court said in partly reversing and granting a new trial.
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January 08, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Review Shipbuilder’s ‘Twilight Zone’ Asbestos Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 8 turned away a case involving Louisiana state tort asbestos claims brought within the “twilight zone” line of cases governing maritime actions that a shipbuilder amicus curiae party warned could have “sweeping consequences” if not addressed.
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January 05, 2024
Law Firm Says Asbestos-Fee Case Conduct Warranted Sanction
RICHMOND, Va. — Having challenged only the resulting sanction and not any of the underlying ruling, it is clear that asbestos-firm-related appellants’ failure to produce evidence, its efforts at delay and attempts to have state courts interrupt federal court proceedings warranted the award, a law firm awarded in excess of $1 million in fees and costs in a dispute over asbestos-case referrals tells the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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January 05, 2024
Federal Judge Sends Italians’ Cruise Line Asbestos Suit Back To Texas
MIAMI — Italian residents specifically disclaim recovery for any asbestos exposures occurring under an arbitration agreement between a man and the cruise line that formerly employed him, and because insufficient information exists on which to make a choice-of-law decision, the court must grant remand, a federal judge in Florida said in sending a case back to Texas state court.
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January 04, 2024
Judge Affirms Quashing Of Asbestos Media Subpoenas, Certifies Stock Class
TRENTON, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson’s motion seeking reconsideration of a ruling quashing subpoenas to lawyers, law firms and experts over their media contacts is untimely but would fail anyway because it offers no new information, and even supplemental information produced in opposition does not require denying a motion to certify a securities class action, a federal judge in New Jersey said in denying reconsideration and certifying the class.
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January 04, 2024
1 Defendant Files Status Report In Insurer’s Suit Over Asbestos Liabilities Row
OMAHA, Neb. — Evaluating proof of claims in separate liquidation proceedings “is expected to take several years,” a defendant told a Nebraska federal court in its latest status report in a suit over the $157.2 million settlement National Indemnity Co. (NICO) reached with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposures.
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January 03, 2024
Choice-Of-Law, Causation Arguments Fail In Ovarian Cancer Talc Case
TRENTON, N.J. — Absent evidence that Louisiana and District of Columbia law conflict, the latter’s laws apply to a case filed in the district, and a man’s case involving his mother’s talc-related ovarian cancer includes sufficient evidence of exposure and duration to overcome summary judgment, a federal judge in New Jersey said.
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January 03, 2024
Magistrate Judge: List Of Litigation Suffices, No Corporate Deposition Needed
NEW ORLEANS — A shipyard need not produce a corporate representative to identify the types and number of asbestos claims it faces because producing a list it likely already has will provide the same information in a less burdensome manner, a federal magistrate judge in Louisiana said Jan. 2 in partly denying plaintiffs’ motion to compel.
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January 03, 2024
Court: No New York Jurisdiction In Asbestos Case Against California Door Maker
NEW YORK — A California door manufacturer that never manufactured asbestos-containing products outside the state is not subject to personal jurisdiction in New York, an appeals court in the state said in reversing denial of the manufacturer’s motion to dismiss.
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January 02, 2024
New York Governor Again Vetoes Bill Seeking Wrongful Death Claim Expansion
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Dec. 29 again vetoed legislation she said would “fundamentally alter the legal framework” by expanding the type of damages recoverable under a wrongful death action and who could pursue such damages, saying that while the state’s statute needs updating, the measure must provide balance and address concerns regarding unintended consequences in the insurance and health care marketplaces.
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December 22, 2023
Asbestos Plaintiffs Urge Court To Reject Pipe Maker’s Disparaging Of Jury Foreman
LOS ANGELES — Two companies hit with an $8.8 million asbestos verdict demonize the jury foreperson in a motion for reconsideration after the judge found that there was jury misconduct but that the conduct was not prejudicial, asbestos plaintiffs tell a Los Angeles judge in an opposition.
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December 22, 2023
Asbestos-Talc Defendant Says Dismissal Ruling Ignored Court’s Past Findings
TRENTON, N.J. — A ruling partly denying an omnibus motion to dismiss disregarded previous court rulings interpreting the same evidence but at a lower standard, a defendant in the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) federal multidistrict asbestos-talc litigation told a federal court in New Jersey in a motion to reconsider.
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December 20, 2023
Judge Denies Settlement In Suit Alleging Malpractice Led To $20M Asbestos Verdict
LOS ANGELES — A California judge overseeing a malpractice suit against asbestos defense counsel denied a motion for good faith settlement involving cross-defendants, saying the conclusory statements in support didn’t provide her sufficient information about the quality of the claims to grant an opposed motion; in a second order, the judge found a motion to compel discovery responses moot.
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December 20, 2023
Amendments To Rule 702 For Expert Witness Testimony Go Into Effect
Amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Fed. R. Evid. 702, went into effect to clarify how courts should decide the admissibility of expert testimony.
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December 19, 2023
Magistrate Judge Finds Motion For Protective Order Over Talc Bottles Moot
NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York denied as moot a motion seeking a protective order governing the return and use of talc bottles submitted as evidence in a pair of asbestos cases after a state court plaintiff asked the judge in his case to modify an order mandating that the defendants return the bottles to the plaintiffs.
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December 19, 2023
Plaintiff/Defense Experts Testifying Since Jan. 1, 2002
The following is a listing of plaintiff and defense experts who testified in trials covered by Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos since Jan. 1, 2002.
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December 19, 2023
Judge: Jury’s $107M Award In Asbestos Case Unsupported, Tainted By Misconduct
LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted post-trial motions, eliminating a $107 million asbestos verdict after finding jury and attorney misconduct in the case and that the evidence of causation against all of the three defendants fell short.
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December 18, 2023
LTL Management To 3rd Circuit: Dismissal Of 2nd Bankruptcy Should Be Reversed
PHILADELPHIA — Johnson & Johnson (J&J) spinoff LTL Management LLC proved that its financial resources will probably be wiped out by asbestos lawsuits, so its second Chapter 11 case is valid, the debtor says in its appeal to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a bankruptcy judge’s dismissal of its second attempt to reorganize through bankruptcy.