Author: Asbestos Case Tracker

General
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Asbestos Case Tracker Named Best Litigation Blog for 2017!

We are pleased to announce that for the second consecutive year, the Asbestos Case Tracker blog has been named the best litigation blog in the country in The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Contest!

The Expert Institute’s annual contest considered thousands of legal blogs online today. After an extended public voting process, Asbestos Case Tracker secured the top spot as best litigation blog.

A huge thank you goes out to all of our readers who made this honor possible. We certainly could not have done …

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Asbestos Litigation Analysis
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A Look Back at the Bare Metal Defense in 2017

In the past year, the bare metal defense continued to see some variance from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, with at least one federal appellate court taking up an issue for further clarification late in the year. The bare metal or component parts defense essentially provides that a manufacturer is not liable for harm caused by asbestos products that the manufacturer did not manufacture or distribute, and owes no duty to warn of the hazards inherent to those products. It is viewed in some jurisdictions in the …

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General
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Susan Van Gelder to Speak at Upcoming Asbestos Conference

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, Susan Van Gelder, partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Toxic Tort Practice Group, will be speaking at Perrin Conference’s New York Asbestos Litigation Conference tomorrow.

This day-long seminar will feature several topics, including:

  • What NYCAL looks like today and what to expect in 2018
  • The in-house and insurance perspectives
  • An update on talc litigation

Susan will be part of the “Overview on Upstate New York” panel. For nearly 15 years, Susan has handled thousands of asbestos cases, representing manufacturers of asbestos-containing equipment …

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Case Decisions / New York / Remand/Removal
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Removal Upheld on Government Contractor Defense for Turbine and Gasket Manufacturers

NEW YORK — Plaintiffs Michael and Anne Donohue brought suit against multiple defendants including Westinghouse (CBS) and Crane Co. alleging Mr. Donohue contracted mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos containing products for which the defendants were liable. Mr. Donohue claimed exposure from his time working in the Navy and with the New York Fire Department (NYFD).

CBS removed the case one day after the plaintiff’s trial deposition. Crane quickly joined the removal. Both asserted the government contractor defense which shields liability in certain instances. The plaintiffs …

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Case Decisions / Maryland / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Affirmed in Favor of Insulation Suppliers Based Upon Lack of Product Identification

MARYLAND — The Circuit Court for Baltimore County affirmed the entry of summary judgment for two insulation suppliers-installers in a mesothelioma case arising from Bethlehem Steel’s Key Highway Shipyard (KHS), agreeing that the plaintiffs failed to present evidence linking the plaintiff to the products or employees of the insulation defendants. The evidence demonstrated that MCIC, Inc. (formerly the McCormick Asbestos Company) and Wallace & Gale Settlement Trust (formerly the Wallace & Gale Company) both supplied and installed insulation at KHS during the plaintiff’s years of …

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California / Other Asbestos News
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Johnson & Johnson Found Not Liable in California Talcum Trial

After almost three days of deliberation following a four week trial, a Los Angeles area jury reached a defense verdict in a mesothelioma case against Johnson & Johnson and its supplier Imerys Talc America, Inc. In closing arguments, the plaintiff urged the jury to consider evidence that allegedly documented Johnson & Johnson’s long awareness of asbestos contamination in its talc mines in attributing the plaintiff’s disease to the defendants. Defense arguments focused on a lack of asbestos markers in the plaintiff’s lungs, and pointed to …

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Case Decisions / FELA / Montana / Statute of Limitations
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Plaintiff’s FELA Claim Against Railroad Survives Limitations Challenge

MONTANA — The plaintiff worked for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Corporation (BNSF) and claimed exposure to amphibole containing vermiculite in that capacity as BNSF transported vermiculite for W.R. Grace. The plaintiff filed suit against BNSF for his asbestos related disease under FELA. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant and the plaintiff appealed.

Prior to the suit, W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. A temporary restraining order (TRO) was immediately issued prohibiting any suits against third parties arising from …

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California / Other Asbestos News
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Los Angeles Jury Deliberating in $24M Talcum Product Trial

CALIFORNIA — Closing arguments were conducted on Monday, November 13, 2017 in a trial against Johnson & Johnson and its supplier, Imerys Talc America Inc., alleging that asbestos in talcum powder caused the plaintiff’s mesothelioma. The plaintiff’s counsel argued that Johnson & Johnson and Imerys pushed to delay regulation of talc for years, and that the companies advocated for methods of testing their products for asbestos that could not detect the levels actually present. The plaintiff suffers from mesothelioma, and her life is predicted to …

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Appeal / Case Decisions / Damages / New York / Verdict Reduction
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Mesothelioma Verdict Reduced by $4.3 Million on Appeal

NEW YORK — Plaintiff Mary Nash filed suit on behalf of the plaintiff’s decedent, Lewis Nash, alleging bystander exposure to asbestos-containing dust from defendant Navistar’s brakes and gaskets while working as a janitor and bus driver in the Fayettteville-Manluis Central School District. The decedent’s exposure occurred in the bus garage at the school, where decedent routinely spent time during his bus runs. The jury awarded the plaintiff the following: three million dollars in conscious pain and suffering; three million dollars in emotional pain and suffering …

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Case Decisions / Discovery / North Carolina
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After Close of Discovery Motion for Release of Pathology Materials Granted

NORTH CAROLINA — Defendant John Crane filed a motion for an order governing the release of pathology materials following the close of discovery. Although pathology materials had been requested from the plaintiff’s counsel nearly a year and a half prior to the discovery end date, they were not produced until eight days after that deadline had passed. John Crane then learned that there were additional pathology materials in the possession of Duke University Hospital System (DHUS). John Crane requested the additional slides in April 2017, …

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