Defendants Win Locomotive Inspection Act Preemption Argument on Summary Judgment Motion in Pennsylvania United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, January 9, 2020

PENNSYLVANIA – A personal injury lawsuit was filed in the court of common pleas of Philadelphia County in April 2016 on behalf of the decedent, Diane Shields. Thereafter, it was removed to federal court. The complaint alleged common law causes of action for negligence, wrongful death and survivorship claims due to the decedent’s exposure to asbestos through her employment at the Motor Coils Manufacturing Company in Braddock, PA. The decedent worked as a laborer at Motor Coils where she cleaned pinion gears as part of…
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Lack of Admissible Evidence Against General Electric Leads to Grant of Summary Judgment in Maritime Meso Case U.S. District Court for Connecticut, January 7, 2020

CONNECTICUT – The Carlson’s brought suit against several defendants including General Electric (GE) alleging that Kurt Carlson developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to the defendants’ asbestos-containing products while working as a radiological control technician for General Dynamics/Electric Boat Corp. from 1973-1974. The plaintiffs provided answers to interrogatories to GE. The answers did not list GE as the plaintiff’s employer or as a product to which he was exposed. The plaintiff was also deposed and did not name GE as a product to which…
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Public University Dismissed from Asbestos Case Under Eleventh Amendment Immunity U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, January 6, 2020

LOUISIANA – The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has granted a public university’s motion to dismiss a mesothelioma case pursuant to immunity provided by the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. The plaintiff, Carey Gomez, alleged that he was exposed to asbestos from several sources throughout his lifetime, including take-home exposure from his father, who was employed at a shipyard in the 1960s, and direct exposure from his own work as a plumber from 1988 to 2011. The plaintiff…
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Asbestos Case Tracker 2019 Compendium

We are pleased to provide the 2019 Asbestos Case Tracker Compendium containing all of the posts throughout the second half of 2019 to clients and friends of Goldberg Segalla. Goldberg Segalla’s Asbestos Case Tracker 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,…
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Court Grants Protective Order Prohibiting Plaintiff’s Deposition U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, December 20, 2019

MISSISSIPPI – In the matter of William Bedford, Individually, and as Co-Executor of the Estate of Beverly Bedford, deceased and Kim Waddle as Co-Executor of the Estate of Beverly Bedford deceased v. American Honda Motor Co., the plaintiffs requested a protective order to prohibit the defendant, American Honda Motor Co., from taking the deposition of the plaintiff, William Bedford, in the lawsuit filed on behalf of himself and the estate of his wife, deceased mesothelioma claimant Beverly Bedford. The plaintiffs’ counsel advised defense counsel…
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Illinois First District Appellate Court Affirms $4.89 Million Verdict Illinois First District Appellate Court, December 19, 2019

ILLINOIS – On December 19, 2019, the Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed $4.89 million verdict rendered in favor of deceased pleural mesothelioma claimant, Patrick O’Reilly, against the defendant, John Crane, Inc. The decedent O’Reilly was a union pipefitter from 1957 to 1998, and alleged that he was exposed to asbestos from replacing and installing valves using packing and gaskets manufactured by John Crane. Following trial, a Cook County jury awarded damages in the amount of $6,022,814.06. The court reduced the verdict by $1,137,500 in…
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Plaintiffs’ Civil Conspiracy Claims Fail Due to Established Illinois Precedent Supreme Court of Illinois, December 19, 2019

ILLINOIS — In John Jones et al. v. Pneumo-Abex LLC, et al., the Supreme Court of Illinois ruled on consolidated appeals of Owens-Illinois, Inc. and Pneumo Abex LLC regarding conspiracy claims related to suppressing information about the dangers of asbestos. Approximately 20 years ago, this court held that jury verdicts entered against Owens Corning and Owens-Illinois based on claims of civil conspiracy could not stand and that those defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The appellate court reached the same…
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Court Reverses Judgment Against Garlock Based on Causation, But Affirms Against Premises Owner Supreme Court of Illinois, December 19, 2019

TEXAS – In Union Carbide Corporation and GST Settlement Facility v. Oscar Torres and Dora Torres, the Court of Appeals of Texas, Corpus-Christi-Edinburg ruled on an appeal filed by appellants GST Settlement Facility, successor-in-bankruptcy to Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC and Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) following a jury trial in favor of appellees. The appellees lawsuit alleged that Oscar Torres developed mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos while working at a UCC chemical plant with Garlock gaskets. UCC appealed based upon the…
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Insurer’s Claim for Reimbursement Misses Pleading Deadline United States District Court, D. Minnesota. December 17, 2019

MINNESOTA – The Continental Insurance Company sold general liability policies to McQuay-Perfex, Inc., a company that manufactured and sold products containing asbestos. McQuay-Perfex went through a series of mergers and name changes throughout its history, leaving Daikin Applied Americas, Inc. as its successor by merger. Daikin was named the defendant in a series of asbestos suits, and it tendered the suits to Continental. Continental provided a defense subject to a reservation of rights and filed a separate declaratory judgment action to determine coverage. In August,…
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Summary Judgment Denied to Honeywell and Granted to Foster Wheeler under Washington Law U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, December 12, 2019 and December 16, 2019

WASHINGTON – On December 12 and December 16, 2019, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued summary judgment decisions for defendants Honeywell International, Inc. Honeywell and Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation respectively, in the Estate of Rudie Klopman-Baerselman matter. In brief, the court denied summary judgment to Honeywell, and granted summary judgment to Foster Wheeler. The plaintiff alleged that the decedent, Rudie Klopman-Baerselman, was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of his alleged exposures to asbestos while performing automotive maintenance work…
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