Valve Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment Under Maritime Law Where it May Have Recommended, But Did Not Provide, Asbestos-Containing Flange Gaskets

In this federal court case, it is alleged that the decedent, Thomas Dandridge, was exposed to asbestos while working as a pipefitter and coppersmith at the Charleston Naval Shipyard from 1965 to 1976. It was claimed that the decedent was exposed to asbestos from a variety of products, including flange gaskets used to link Crane Co. valves to pipe lines. The case was originally brought in the court of common pleas in Charleston County and was later removed federal court, where Crane moved for summary …

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Two Rulings From MDL Allow Previously Dismissed Asbestos Claims to Proceed Against Various Ship Owners Despite Previous Dismissed Actions Not Listed as Assets in Bankruptcy

In a follow-up to six cases previously reported on in ACT, two more cases were decided in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Both cases had started in the Northern District of Ohio, and were transferred to the MDL 875 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In both cases, the plaintiffs brought claims against various ship owners represented by Thompson Hine LLP, and all alleged asbestos exposure while working on ships. All cases were administratively dismissed; after dismissal, the plaintiffs …

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California Appellate Court Affirms All of Trial Court’s Rulings in Extensive Damages Case Against Kaiser Gypsum

The plaintiffs in the case were a married couple who filed a claim for personal injury due to bystander asbestos exposure after the husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma. After a lengthy trial against defendant Kaiser Gypsum, the plaintiffs were awarded $21 million in compensatory damages but the jury could not reach a verdict regarding punitive damages. A retrial was ordered on this issue, and the second jury awarded $20 million in punitive damages, which the court reduced to just under $4 million. Defendant Kaiser Gypsum …

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District Court Grants Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction Due to Plaintiffs’ Failure to Respond to These Motions

Defendants General Electric, Ingersoll-Rand, and CBS Corporation moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiff failed to respond to any of these motions. The court cited Local Rule 7.1(c) in using its discretion to construe this failure to file a timely response as an admission of the merits of the motion. “Here, Defendants are not incorporated nor maintain their principal place of business in Illinois.  Further, Defendants’ affiliations with Illinois are not ‘so continuous and systematic’ as to render Defendants at home in Illinois.  …

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Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust Drops Under 20 Percent Ownership in Industries-Company, Files 13G Form

The Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust recently filed a SC 13G/A form. The form reported a decreased stake in the company by a total of -29.36 percent to 5,251,234 shares, leaving the Trust owning 9.5 percent of the Industrials-company.  This form was required as a result of trading activity on December 31, 2015.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. produces flooring products and ceiling systems for use in the construction and renovation of various types of buildings.  This 13G form is used when …

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Summary Judgment Awarded to Pump Manufacturer for Alleged Exposure to Pump Component Parts Manufactured by Third-Parties

In Holzworth v. Alfa Laval, et al. 12-CV-06088 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 21, 2016), Southern District of New York Judge John Keenan granted defendant Ingersoll-Rand’s summary judgment motion arising out of the plaintiff’s alleged exposure to asbestos aboard the U.S.S. Sheldrake. The plaintiff’s decedent had testified that he was exposed to pumps aboard the ship as a bystander and by cleaning them. He did not specifically describe their pumps’ composition, but claimed that he scraped asbestos-containing packing from the jackets. He further testified that many of the …

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Honorable Garrett Wong Formally Takes the Reigns as San Francisco Asbestos Presiding Judge

On January 11, 2016, Judge Garrett L. Wong formally replaced the Honorable Teri L. Jackson as the San Francisco Superior Court Asbestos Presiding Judge.

Judge Wong, a San Francisco native and alum of the University of California, has worked in civil and criminal litigation in the public and private sectors. He was originally appointed to the San Francisco Superior Court by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 and served as a misdemeanor and trial judge at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco.

Although Judge Wong …

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Foreseeability of Injury Nor a Special Relationship Existed to Create a Duty in Secondary Exposure Case

The plaintiff contracted mesothelioma and sued various defendants for asbestos exposure allegedly sustained as a child. Kuettel performed industrial and commercial insulation contracting work;  the plaintiff’s father worked for Kuettel from 1961-65 and again from 1974-79. Kuettel moved for summary judgment, arguing it had no duty to warn the plaintiff because there was no special relationship between it and the plaintiff, and because it did not manufacture any of the asbestos-containing products it supplied and installed.  The district court granted the motion because there was …

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Granting of Summary Judgment Upheld on Appeal; Court Rules Time to File Suit Began with Prior Diagnosis of Asbestosis Based on Virginia Statute of Limitations

The plaintiff in this case alleges that the decedent, Vincent Gatto, was exposed to asbestos while self-employed as a brick mason in Virginia. The decedent was diagnosed with asbestosis in 2003 and then with mesothelioma in 2010. The action was filed in 2011.  Following the close of discovery, several defendants moved for summary judgment “based upon the Virginia statute of limitations, Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-243(A), which requires that an action for personal injury must be brought within two years after the cause of action …

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NYCAL Court Permits Discovery of Non-Party Co-Author of Article Analyzing Verdicts in Association with Consolidated Trials

In this NYCAL case, Justice Peter Moulton denied the defendants’ motion seeking to quash a subpoena served by Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. upon Mr. Marc Scarcella of Bates, White LLC, an economic consulting firm. Mr. Scarcella co-authored an article entitled, “The Consolidation Effect:  New York City Asbestos Verdicts, Due Process and Judicial Economy.” In summary, the article analyzed verdicts in association with consolidated trials in NYCAL.

In denying the motion to quash, the court began its opinion by noting that the Defendants “concede[d] that [the …

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