Mealey's Asbestos
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November 21, 2023
New York Appellate Court Finds Experts’ Asbestos Product Testimony Sufficient
NEW YORK — Experts’ testimony about the doses of asbestos a woodworker would receive from mixing and sanding a product and that the exposures would exceed background levels suffices under New York law, a state appellate court said in affirming denial of summary judgment.
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November 20, 2023
Catholic Church Can’t Secure Federal Jurisdiction Over Ex-Pupil’s Asbestos Case
NEW ORLEANS — Dismissal of the lone claims giving rise to federal jurisdiction, the more than year-long stay of the case and a new defendant for which there has been no discovery all warrant remanding an asbestos case, a federal judge in Louisiana said Nov. 17.
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November 20, 2023
John Crane: Asbestos Damages Ruling Doesn’t Warrant Interlocutory Appeal
BOSTON — An asbestos plaintiff never availed herself of the court’s admiralty jurisdiction from which she now attempts an interlocutory appeal, and a decision limiting the damages she seeks does not determine any claims or liability as required for such an appeal, a defendant told the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 in asking the court to dismiss the appeal.
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November 20, 2023
Reinsurers Fail To Stop New Arbitration By Citing Previous Arbitrations
CHICAGO — Ruling that “a dispute over the preclusive effect of a prior arbitration is arbitrable,” an Illinois federal judge granted an insurer’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the case filed by reinsurers without prejudice.
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November 20, 2023
Family Of Mesothelioma Victim Says ‘Twilight Zone’ Case Needs No Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A unique case where a man can seek a tort remedy owing to the confluence of circumstances surrounding when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, state law and the “twilight zone” of the Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) present a rare situation, and the narrowly tailored ruling below needs no review, a family tells the U.S. Supreme Court.
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November 17, 2023
Pipe Maker Awarded $8.8M Asbestos Verdict Disputes Tainted Jury Narrative
LOS ANGELES — The fact that the jury unanimously voted against imposing punitive damages demonstrates that there was no “serious . . . misconduct” tainting jurors who eventually awarded a nearly $9 million asbestos verdict, a couple argues in California trial court briefs opposing motions for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV).
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November 16, 2023
Rhode Island Justice Says Defendant Was On Notice Of Tennessee Law Exceptions
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A woman’s amended complaint adequately puts an asbestos defendant on notice of the claims against it and that she would invoke at least one exception to the Tennessee law protecting retailers from suit, a Rhode Island justice said in denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
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November 16, 2023
Judge Admits Pair Of Experts, Grants Asbestos Plaintiffs Limited Surrebuttal
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — An asbestos expert for two plaintiffs didn’t simply sign off on a counsel-authored report but provided adequate input of his own, and while challenged portions of a defense expert’s report largely constitute rebuttal, to the extent that they do not the plaintiffs may file a surrebuttal, a federal judge in a Libby, Mont., asbestos exposure case said Nov. 15 in denying motions to strike.
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November 16, 2023
J&J Entities Urge Application Of Texas Law, Striking Of Talc Allegations
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A motion to strike allegations of asbestos exposure against a trio of Johnson & Johnson entities asks a Connecticut state court to address the narrow issue of whether Texas law applies and precludes finding that any one of them inherited talc-related liabilities, the companies argue in a reply brief.
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November 16, 2023
Los Angeles Targets J&J’s Advertising Of Asbestos-Tainted Talc Products
LOS ANGELES — Johnson & Johnson and related entities marketed talc-based baby powder and Shower to Shower products to mothers and minorities despite knowing about the presence of asbestos, heavy metals and other contaminants that could not be removed, their link to ovarian cancer and the existence of potential alternatives without those risks, Los Angeles says in state court complaint alleging false advertising and unfair competition in violation of the California unfair competition law (UCL) and public nuisance.
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November 16, 2023
Judge Vacates Sanctions Against Attorneys After $9.7M Asbestos Verdict
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin judge vacated sanctions against attorneys for discovery violations, saying there was nothing specific tying the attorneys to the company’s untimely disclosure of more than 1,500 documents related to a man’s workplace in an asbestos case that netted a $9.7 million verdict.
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November 15, 2023
Judge Won’t Certify Appeal Of Maritime Asbestos Damages Ruling
BOSTON — A ruling limiting the types of damages available in a maritime asbestos action at most impacts what occurs at trial and even if reversed would not assist in resolving the case, a federal judge in Massachusetts said Nov. 14 in declining to certify an immediate appeal.
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November 15, 2023
Court: Pennsylvania Disease Law Doesn’t Preclude Excluded Man’s Tort Action
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s occupational disease law does not apply to a claim where the disability does not result in lost wages and thus the statute’s exclusivity provision does not bar a tort action under both recent precedent and a “novel and persuasive” interpretation of existing precedent, a Pennsylvania appellate court said Nov. 14 in affirming denial of a motion to dismiss.
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November 14, 2023
Law Firm: New York Conduct Didn’t Warrant Sanction In Asbestos Fee Dispute
RICHMOND, Va. — The “obvious linkage” standard a federal judge in Maryland applied for conduct in a separate case filed in a separate court gives courts expansive power to sanction, a law firm embroiled in a dispute over fees involving asbestos bankruptcy trust cases tells the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a Nov. 13 brief.
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November 14, 2023
Hawaii Judge Excludes BAP1 Genetic Causation Opinion From Asbestos Trial
HONOLULU — After allowing a blood test, a Hawaii judge excluded any resulting expert opinions on genetics’ role in a man’s mesothelioma as untimely and inadmissible in an ongoing asbestos trial, sources told Mealey Publications.
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November 13, 2023
Supervisory Appeal In Occupational Asbestos Disease Case Nixed By Montana Court
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court declined to exercise supervisory power over a case in which a judge found that the state’s occupational disease law, which was in effect at the time a man left employment, governs a mesothelioma lawsuit and permits a common-law action for exposure to asbestos, saying that simply preserving resources does not rise to the level required for such relief.
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November 13, 2023
Laundry List Of Issues Goes Before South Carolina Top Court In Asbestos Petition
ANDERSON, S.C. — Briefing on a petition for a writ of certiorari filed with the South Carolina Supreme Court wrapped up, leaving the court to decide whether to review issues as far ranging as causation, intervening cause, the availability of punitive damages and whether a court properly imposed sanctions related to the handling of lung tissue in an asbestos case.
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November 10, 2023
Insurer Is Granted Clerk’s Entry Of Default Against Brazilian Reinsurer
OMAHA, Neb. — An insurer has obtained a clerk’s entry of default in its Nebraska federal court suit seeking reimbursement from a Brazil-based reinsurer for a settlement the insurer reached with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposure.
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November 09, 2023
Judge Allows Untimely Asbestos Expert Reports But Reopens Depositions
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Clerical oversight appears to be behind the failure to timely produce expert opinions in a long-running asbestos action, and what little prejudice could result from admitting two untimely reports can be cured by allowing the plaintiffs to re-depose their own experts, a federal judge in Montana said Nov. 8 in denying the plaintiffs’ motion to strike the two reports.
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November 09, 2023
Asbestos Defendant: Court Should Stay Trial Only If It Deems It Necessary
BOSTON — A company facing a maritime asbestos trial says a woman’s alleged hardships necessitating a continuance are a “problem of her own making” but that despite her inability to justify the relief it would support granting the motion if the court believes that it needs additional time to consider the legal and factual issues before it.
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November 07, 2023
Judge Excludes Expert; Parties Weigh Moves After LTL Bankruptcy Stay Ends
RALEIGH, N.C. — Parties to an asbestos talc-related mesothelioma case told a federal judge in North Carolina that recent developments lifted the stay imposed by the LTL Management LLC bankruptcy and that the parties were working toward an agreement that would permit the filing of an amended complaint naming the company. The status report came in response to a ruling seeking information on the stay and granting a defendant’s motion to exclude experts and for summary judgment.
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November 07, 2023
Plaintiff, John Crane Inc. Debate Immediate Appeal Of Maritime Damages Ruling
BOSTON — An asbestos defendant relieved of having to face loss of consortium and punitive damages claims in a maritime case argues against certifying the ruling denying the claims for interlocutory appeal, saying the decision does not alter the scope of liability, and the possibility that the case could require a second trial on damages does not warrant appellate review.
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November 07, 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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November 07, 2023
Pennsylvania High Court To Review Disease Act Exclusivity In Asbestos Case
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted a petition and agreed to decide whether under the state’s Occupational Disease Act, a man’s asbestos-related injury case properly belongs before a trial court or the state’s workers’ compensation system.
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November 02, 2023
B-Reader Urges Reinstatement Of Claims Against Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Auditor
NEW ORLEANS — The evidence showed that a company intentionally crafted an audit report of asbestos trust X-ray submissions with a small sample size and unqualified reviewers in a successful effort to exclude a high-volume B-reader, the expert who claims that he ceased operating his business in the wake of the report told the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in seeking to revive negligence and intentional interference claims.