Category: Asbestos Litigation Analysis

In July 2020, we reported on Iowa’s passage of legislation intended to significantly reduce or eliminate the over-naming of defendants in asbestos and silica litigation. Since then, three additional states have enacted similar legislation: West Virginia, North Dakota, and Tennessee.  

West Virginia

On March 31, 2021, the West Virginia legislature passed House Bill 2495.  The bill outlines the requirements with which a plaintiff must comply in an asbestos or silica action. Within 90 days of filing a complaint, a plaintiff with a nonmalignant condition must file a …

On Wednesday, December 29, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the draft scope of the “Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos”. While more than 60 nations have comprehensive asbestos bans, the United States is undergoing a lengthy asbestos “risk evaluation”. As Part 2 of the EPA’s Asbestos Risk Evaluation becomes open for public comment, the question is whether the eventual findings of the EPA’s risk evaluation will result in stronger asbestos regulations, …

Over the past six months, the Asbestos Case Tracker has reported on numerous summary judgment decisions throughout the country. The most active jurisdictions included New York, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Illinois, Delaware, Mississippi and Washington. On review of the decisions we have discussed, Texas, Illinois, Mississippi, Washington and Pennsylvania appear to be the most defendant-friendly jurisdictions, with the courts granting all the summary judgment motions coming before them. New York continues to be the least defendant-friendly jurisdiction when it comes to summary judgment. Of the eight …

Johnson & Johnson currently has approximately 25,000 lawsuits pending against it related to its talc products, including talcum powder and baby powder

Reports have circulated that Johnson & Johnson is considering a strategic plan to move its liabilities from talcum litigation related to baby powder and other products into a newly created business that would later seek bankruptcy protection. Recently, lawyers for plaintiffs requested that the bankruptcy judge block the move of Johnson & Johnson. However, bankruptcy judge Laurie Selber Silverstein declined to prevent Johnson …

On March 3, 2021, the PROTECT Asbestos Victims Act, otherwise known as S.574, was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). This legislation attempts to reform the asbestos bankruptcy trust system by providing oversight of asbestos bankruptcy trusts, ensuring those harmed by asbestos receive fair and just compensation, and eliminating fraud and abuse within the trust system.

Since its creation in 1994, the asbestos bankruptcy trust system has received little independent oversight. This legislation hopes …

While 2020 delayed many aspects of litigation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some jurisdictions such as New York City still managed to hold its title as one of the nation’s top judicial hellholes. As previously reported by the Asbestos Case Tracker, as of November 13, 2020, New York terminated the scheduling of any new jury trials.

However, according to American Tort Reform Foundation 2020-21 Judicial Hellholes, New York City still managed to see a dramatic increase in nuclear verdicts. These multimillion-dollar awards were …