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Automotive Defendant Obtains Dismissal for Lack of Jurisdiction

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, July 21, 2022

In this asbestos action, defendant Honeywell International Inc., f/k/a Allied Signal Inc. as successor-in-interest to The Bendix Corporation filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Plaintiff failed to respond to Honeywell’s motion.

A district court has personal jurisdiction over a defendant “who is subject to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is located.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(1)(A). An Illinois district …

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Turbine Defendant Not Liable For Failure to Warn as to Third-Party Insulation

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, July 8, 2022

In this asbestos matter, the defendant ViacomCBS Inc. (“Westinghouse”) moved for partial summary judgment as to Decedent Callen Cortez’s claims arising from alleged exposure to asbestos from Westinghouse’s turbines, arguing that the plaintiffs could not establish that Decedent was exposed to a Westinghouse turbine at the Monsanto plant at which he worked, that his exposures were not substantial factors in causing his mesothelioma, and that Westinghouse was not liable for any of …

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Multiple Defendants Obtain Summary Judgment on Claims of Take-Home Plaintiff

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, May 27, 2022

In this matter, the plaintiffs allege that decedent Shirley Hilster was exposed to asbestos from contact with her husband’s work clothes and person from laundering his work clothes and spending time in his vehicle. Defendant Eckel Industries, Inc. filed motions for summary judgment and to exclude the plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. Edwin Holstein. In its motion for summary judgment, Eckel argues that the plaintiffs’ claims against it must be dismissed because there is no …

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Mesothelioma

Asbestos Complaint Survives Motion to Dismiss

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern Division, May 13, 2022

The plaintiffs Augustus Adams and his wife brought suit against numerous defendants, alleging that Mr. Adams developed mesothelioma and other lung damage from exposure to asbestos fibers during the course of his employment. The plaintiffs assert claims for defective design, failure to warn, implied warranty, gross negligence, and loss of consortium. Defendant Vistra Intermediate Company LLC, individually and as successor-in-interest to CRSS, filed a motion to dismiss for failure to …

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EPA Proposes Ban on Chrysotile Asbestos

On April 5, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced proposed regulation that would prohibit the use, manufacture, and import of chrysotile asbestos, also known as ‘white asbestos.’[1] Chrysotile asbestos is the most commonly used variety of asbestos in the United States and can be found in certain products, including brake pads and linings, gaskets, and roofing materials.[2] EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan characterized the proposal as a “bold, long-overdue” action with the aim of protecting the American people.[3]

This is not …

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Prior Release Bars Plaintiff’s Claims Against Railroad Defendant

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Plaintiff Leopoldo Mendoza-Gomez worked for 20 years as a laborer for the defendant, Union Pacific Railroad Company. He alleges that, while working for Union, he was exposed to various toxic substances including asbestos, and that he was diagnosed with cancer and asbestosis in 2019. In response to his filing of a federal lawsuit, Union asserted that the plaintiff’s claims were barred due to a release that the parties entered into in 2012. In that release, the plaintiff specifically …

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brakes

Brake Mechanic Awarded Twenty Million Dollars at Trial

Missouri Circuit Court, Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit, March 10, 2022

Plaintiff William Trokey was a part-time mechanic who worked with asbestos-containing brakes. At a trial in St. Louis City, he alleged that he developed mesothelioma as a result of this exposure, supporting his claim with testimony from one medical expert. Following a trial, the plaintiff was awarded a verdict in the amount of $20 million on March 10, 2022.

Read the full decision here

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Claim Accrues Upon Learning of Asbestos-Related Disease, Not Symptoms Manifesting

Supreme Court of New York, New York County, March 14, 2022

In this matter, plaintiff Dominic Baldi worked as an electrician in public schools and was exposed to asbestos throughout his career. The plaintiff filed the Notice of Claim on April 10, 2020, putting the defendant, Amityville Union Free School District, on notice of this matter. Subsequently, the plaintiff filed the instant order to show cause on August 23, 2021, to serve a late Notice of Claim upon Amityville.

Amityville argues that, in a case …

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Court Denies Boiler Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Maritime Case

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division, March 3, 2022

Plaintiff Jerome Gehant served in the US Navy from 1967 until 1970 on the USS America as a boiler technician. The plaintiff alleges that the insulation, gaskets, insulating cement, and packing on, around, and inside the boilers contained asbestos. He specifically claims that the Foster Wheeler boilers on the ship did not contain warnings about the dangers of asbestos, and that Foster Wheeler knew that asbestos and asbestos-containing products posed a …

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Finding of Limited Exposure Entitles Defendant to Dismissal of Punitive Damages

Supreme Court of New York, New York County, January 12, 2022

The defendant Graybar Electric Company filed a motion for partial summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages ought to be dismissed citing that punitive damages are inappropriate because the plaintiff only encountered Graybar’s product once during his career. The plaintiff’s opposition argued that issues of fact remain regarding the plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos-containing cement pipe that was sold and distributed by Graybar. The plaintiff contended that Graybar merely pointed to gaps …

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