Case Remanded to Determine Setoff Amounts from Settlements with Asbestos Trusts Supreme Court of Mississippi, February 15, 2018

MISSISSIPPI — On February 13, 2009, Clara Hagan filed a complaint, as the representative of Bennie Oakes, against Illinois Central Railroad in the Warren County Circuit Court. The complaint, brought under the provisions of the Federal Employers Liability Act, sought to recover damages for personal injuries and/or death sustained by decedent Bennie Oakes while decedent was employed by Illinois Central and while engaging in interstate commerce. The decedent was employed by Illinois Central from 1952 through 1994 and alleged he was exposed to asbestos “on…
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Trial Court’s Reaffirmation of Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict in Favor of Defendants Reversed Supreme Court of Mississippi, September 22, 2016

Larry Smith worked on various drilling rigs from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s. He was also a heavy smoker. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and died shortly thereafter. His widow and other heirs filed a wrongful death action against several defendants in 2006. At trial, only Union Carbide Corporation, Montello, Inc., and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. remained. The plaintiffs brought a strict liability claim under a products liability design-defect theory and claimed that Mr. Smith’s exposure to the defendant’s asbestos-containing products on the…
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