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Other Asbestos News
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Third Party Negligence Found as New Proximate Cause in a Mesothelioma Claim

Plaintiff Erik Ross Phillips filed suit against a number of defendants after contracting mesothelioma allegedly caused by occupational exposure to asbestos in brake linings used in a machine at the facilities of his employer. The defendants, among others, included the manufacturers and distributors of the brake linings.

At trial, Phillips pursued a negligent failure-to-warn theory under North Carolina law against both defendants. As a defense, the distributor and manufacturer argued that even if they were negligent, they are not liable because of the intervening negligence …

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Case Decisions / Ohio / Summary Judgment
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Plaintiff’s Testimony about Secondary Brake Exposure Sufficient to Overcome Summary Judgment

OHIO – Plaintiff Julia Alexander filed suit against multiple defendants after she was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in May of 2016. The plaintiff alleges that she was exposed to asbestos via Bendix brake products which were manufactured by Honeywell International. The plaintiff testified that she visited her fiancé, an automobile mechanic, two to three times per week for four hours a visit from 1987-91. Throughout this period, the plaintiff alleges she observed her fiancé performing brake work on a variety of vehicles one to three …

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Case Decisions / Delaware / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Granted for Ford on Strict Liability, Punitives, and Conspiracy Claims

DELAWARE — Asbestosis plaintiff Gerald Hickman alleged take home, bystander, and direct exposure to asbestos from, among others, defendant Ford Motor Company. Ford moved for summary judgment, which was granted in part and denied in part.

The plaintiff alleged exposure to Ford products during his work around others in garages and gas stations, from his father’s work in the family service station, and from his own repair work on his wife’s new Ford Mustang. Applying Delaware law, the court denied summary judgment as to the …

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Case Decisions / Delaware / Summary Judgment
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No Reasonable Inference that Union Carbide Supplied Asbestos to Joint Compound Manufacturers; Summary Judgment Granted

DELAWARE — Plaintiff Larry Sturgill, who died of mesothelioma, worked in home remodeling and construction for three years, using joint compound manufactured by three companies. Defendant Union Carbide moved for summary judgment, which the court granted.

U.S. Gypsum and National Gypsum, were allegedly supplied with Calidria asbestos for their joint compound products by Union Carbide. Virginia substantive law governed the case. Union Carbide argued that 1) the plaintiff could not establish that he worked with any joint compound containing Calidria, 2) that a bulk supplier …

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California / Case Decisions / Significant Verdicts
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California Jury Finds Against Asbestos/Talc Defendants for $22.17 Million

CALIFORNIA — Earlier this week, an Alameda County, California jury awarded plaintiffs $22.17 million dollars, comprised of $17.6 million in compensatory damages and $4.6 million in punitive damages.  Defendants Imerys Talc America Inc. (40 percent) and Vanderbilt Minerals LLC (60 percent) were found liable.  Vanderbilt Minerals reportedly settled the case after the compensatory verdict.  The plaintiffs alleged that the 72-year-old decedent developed mesothelioma after working with paint made with talc that was contaminated with asbestos.  According to the plaintiffs’ closing arguments, the defendants had denied …

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Case Decisions / Louisiana / Remand/Removal
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Amended Complaint Deleting Federal Claims Does Not Destroy Jurisdiction Over a Validly Removed Case

LOUISIANA — This decision arises out of the court’s review of the plaintiffs’ motion to remand, and appellant’s motion for review of an order granting plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint. The shipyard worker plaintiff originally filed an action in state court naming numerous defendants. The initial petition included failure to warn and negligence claims against the appellant, among other causes of action, and strict products liability and failure to warn claims against a boiler defendant, who also opposed the motion to remand. Approximately three …

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Other Asbestos News
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Contempt Order Vacated Against Boiler Defendant; Discovery Order Stands

ILLINOIS — Cleaver Brooks filed an appeal of the trial court’s ruling of a “friendly contempt” order against it. By way of background, the plaintiff filed suit against multiple defendants arguing that he sustained injuries from working with and around asbestos containing parts associated with boilers. At issue were thousands of index cards specific to Cleaver Brooks’ products. The plaintiff sought those index cards through discovery requests. Cleaver Brooks eventually produced certain index cards after multiple discovery hearings at the trial court level. However, Cleaver …

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Case Decisions / Delaware / Summary Judgment
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Summary Judgment Affirmed in Delaware Maritime Action Based Upon Lack of Product Identification

DELAWARE — In an unreported opinion issued on November 29, 2017, the Superior Court of Delaware affirmed the entry of summary judgment on behalf of Warren Pumps. The plaintiff, Phillip Walsh, served aboard the USS Halsey and USS Bigelow from 1975 to 1977 as a machinist in the U.S. Navy. He was the only product identification witness offered. He testified that he removed insulation from pumps, and also removed and installed packing and gaskets on the pumps. With regard to the manufacturer of those replacement …

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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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