Asbestos Case Tracker 2018 Compendium

We are pleased to provide the 2018 Asbestos Case Tracker Compendium containing all of posts throughout 2018 to clients and friends of Goldberg Segalla. Goldberg Segalla’s Asbestos Case Tracker blog is the go-to resource for up-to-date asbestos decisions happening in courts throughout the United States. Ranked on the 2018 ABA Journal Web 100 for top legal resources, our blog reports on legislative updates, significant verdicts, and other critical developments in the asbestos area. We provide summaries of and access to decisions, along with insightful commentary…
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Concurring Opinion Rules Notice Was Timely Under Texas Tort Claims Act Court of Appeals of Texas, December 28, 2018

TEXAS – Justice Terry Jennings of the Court of Appeals of Texas issued a concurring opinion in the Jefferson County v. Farris appeal to dismiss a specific argument made by the county. The facts of the case involved a mesothelioma claim filed against the county by the wife of Judge James Farris, who passed only nine days after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2004. He was allegedly exposed to asbestos during a remediation project taking place at the county courthouse in 1996. Jefferson County argued…
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Insured’s Asbestos Claims Considered Multiple Occurrences But With Aggregate Limits U.S. District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, December 27, 2018

PENNSYLVANIA – The plaintiff Ohio Valley Insulating Company (OVI) filed a motion for partial summary judgment and the defendants Continental Insurance Company, Zurich American Insurance Company, and Granite State Insurance Company (collectively, Insurers) cross-moved for summary judgment. The court granted and denied in part both motions. With regard to the first legal issue addressed by the Western District of Pennsylvania, OVI sought a declaration that various asbestos-related suits filed against it were based on multiple occurrences related to OVI’s “operations” (installation and removal of asbestos-containing…
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Plaintiff’s Experts Precluded for Untimely Disclosure United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, December 28, 2018

LOUISIANA — The plaintiff Victor Michel (plaintiff) initially filed suit in state court on July 28, 2017, alleging asbestos exposure as a result of his work as a mechanic and generator service technician from 1965-2005. The defendants removed the case to federal court on May 8, 2018. After the case was removed to federal court, a status conference was held at which the court asked the parties to notify it of any remaining discovery. There was no discussion as to any further expert discovery. The…
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Asbestos-Containing Cement Pipe Not a Substantial Contributing Factor to Development of Plaintiff’s Lung Cancer Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit, December 26, 2018

LOUISIANA — The plaintiffs Thomas Handy, Jr. (Handy), his wife Sandra Handy, and son Thomas Handy, III filed suit against numerous entities, claiming that exposure to asbestos caused Thomas, Jr.’s lung cancer. By the time of trial, only one defendant remained – Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.. The plaintiffs alleged that Ferguson was the successor corporation of Louisiana Utility Supply Co. (Ferguson/LUSCO), and that Ferguson/LUSCO supplied or distributed asbestos-containing cement pipe to the plaintiff’s employer, C.J. Calamia Construction. The plaintiffs alleged that Handy was exposed to asbestos…
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Asbestos Case Tracker Named Best Litigation Blog of 2018!

We are pleased to announce that the Asbestos Case Tracker blog has once again been named the best litigation blog in the country and 3rd place overall in The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Contest for 2018! The Expert Institute — a leading legal service provider for identifying, verifying, and retaining expert witnesses — holds this annual contest to vet and recognize the best legal blogs out of the thousands that are on the web. In the 2018 Best Legal Blogs Contest — what the…
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Third Party Distribution of Talc Products in Florida Ruled Insufficient to Confer Personal Jurisdiction Over Talc Supplier Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida, December 19, 2018

FLORIDA — A divided Florida Appellate Court granted a motion to dismiss based on a lack of personal jurisdiction over a cosmetic talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, (Imerys). See Imerys Talc Am., Inc. v. Ricketts, No. 4D17-3815, 2018 WL 6719406 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Dec. 19, 2018). In opposition to the motion, Plaintiff argued that under the stream-of-commerce doctrine Imerys was subject to specific personal jurisdiction based on its out-of-state sales to a downstream manufacturer, who later distributed their talc containing cosmetic products in…
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Missouri Judge Refuses To Set Aside $4.69 Billion Ovarian Cancer Talc Verdict

MISSOURI — In July 2018, a $4.69 billion verdict was awarded against Johnson & Johnson when a Missouri jury determined that 22 women developed ovarian cancer due to asbestos allegedly contained in the company’s talcum powder products.  This week, Judge Rex Burlison denied Johnson & Johnson’s motion to set aside this verdict, which included $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages.  Although Judge Burlison ruled that sufficient evidence was presented to support the award, Johnson & Johnson indicated that the unsuccessful…
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On Reversal, Aircraft Manufacturer Successfully Obtains Removal on Federal Officer Grounds United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, December 14, 2018

ILLINOIS – The plaintiffs Bruce and Barbara Betzner (plaintiffs) commenced a lawsuit in Illinois State Court (Madison County) against, among other defendants, Boeing Company (Boeing), alleging that, during the course of the plaintiff Bruce Betzner’s (Mr. Betzner) employment, he was exposed to asbestos-containing products, resulting in his mesothelioma diagnosis. With particular regard to Boeing, the plaintiffs allege that Mr. Betzner’s assembly of heavy bomber aircraft for the United State Air Force, which involved the installation of Boeing components, exposed him to asbestos. Boeing filed a…
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Plaintiff’s Experts Satisfy Daubert, Allowed to Testify in Brake Dust Exposure Case United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division, December 11, 2018

ARKANSAS — Ronald Thomas worked as a brake mechanic and manager at auto repair shops for approximately twelve years. In March of 2017, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and subsequently passed away later that year. His estate brought product liability claims against multiple defendants for negligence and strict liability, alleging that exposure to asbestos in brake pads caused Thomas’s mesothelioma. The plaintiff brought forth two experts, Dr. Arnold Brody and Dr. Edwin Holstein, to support his theory.  Dr. Brody is a professor emeritus of pathology…
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