LATEST INSIGHTS

Appeal / Washington
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Application of Product Line Doctrine Imposes Liability Upon Successor in Interest of Asbestos Supplier

WASHINGTON – The plaintiff, Edward Leren, filed suit alleging that decedent Marvin Leren developed mesothelioma as a result of his employment with Z Brick Company from 1961-1981. It was alleged that Benson Chemical (Benson) supplied Z Brick with raw asbestos used in their decorative bricks. Leren poured the raw asbestos into hoppers to mix the ingredients used to make the bricks. The defendant at trial was Elementis, the successor to Harrisons and Crosfield Pacific, Inc. (HCP). HCP had previously acquired Benson. The jury returned a …

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New York / Other Asbestos News
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Substantial Justice is Driving Factor in Decision to Transfer Mesothelioma Case to Colorado

NEW YORK – The plaintiff, Carl Lanz, filed suit in New York against the defendants alleging he developed mesothelioma as a result of his occupational exposure to asbestos. Specifically, Carl Lanz alleged he had been exposed to asbestos while working as an electrician apprentice and electrician for the Public Service Company of Colorado from 1969 -2008. Carl Lanz had never been to New York despite having filed his complaint in New York.

General Electric and Union Carbide moved to dismiss the complaint on the basis …

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Georgia
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Denial of Workers’ Compensation Claim Affirmed After Incorrect Standard of Review Applied by Lower Court

GEORGIA – Kevin Sinyard worked as a union pipefitter since 1978; from 1986-1989, the plaintiff worked for the defendant, McKenney’s Inc. at Piedmont Hospital. In 2014, the plaintiff was diagnosed with mesothelioma and he and his wife filed a complaint in Illinois against more than 80 defendants. Although the complaint named several companies and premises owners where he worked after McKenney’s, the plaintiffs did not name McKenney’s as a defendant. The plaintiffs dismissed the Illinois lawsuit without prejudice, and filed workers’ compensation claims against McKenney’s …

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Louisiana / Other Asbestos News
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Plaintiffs’ Claims Against Employer Barred Under Workers’ Compensation Grounds; May Plead Alternative Premises Liability Claims

LOUISIANA – The plaintiff, Victor Michel, filed a lawsuit in state court in July 2017, alleging that his work as a mechanic exposed him to asbestos which caused him to develop peritoneal mesothelioma. The case was removed to federal court on May 8, 2018 and the plaintiff passed away five days later. The court substituted his survivors as the plaintiffs on July 10, 2018, and as of January 25, 2019, Ford Motor Co. was the only remaining defendant. On February 20, 2019, the …

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Summary Judgment / Washington
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Additional Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment Granted Where Plaintiff’s Affidavit and Related Expert Testimony Ruled Inadmissible

WASHINGTON – As reported on the Asbestos Case Tracker on May 6, 2019, in Varney v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, et al., the court ruled on several defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The plaintiff, Donald Varney, filed suit against numerous defendants alleging exposure to asbestos while working as a marine machinist at multiple shipyards in Washington caused his mesothelioma. The complaint was removed to federal court. One day before he passed away, the plaintiff signed an affidavit stating that he worked with various defendants’ …

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Pennsylvania / Summary Judgment
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Court Reverses Grant of Summary Judgment for Two Fire Door Manufacturers

PENNSYLVANIA – In Lamson v. Georgia-Pacific LLC f/k/a Georgia Pacific Corporation, Individually and as Successor-in-Interest to Bestwall Gypsum Company, et al., the Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently reviewed the plaintiff’s (appellant) appeal from an order granting summary judgment to two defendants (appellees) in the case. The trial court had concluded that the appellant failed to demonstrate that he was exposed to asbestos from fire doors manufactured by the appellees. The superior court, held that the appellant submitted sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue …

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Louisiana / Other Asbestos News / Verdict Reduction
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Jury Verdict Upheld Against Boiler Defendant

LOUISIANA — Lynda Berry alleged that she was exposed to asbestos through the electrical work of her husband, William, at a Louisiana paper mill, causing her peritoneal mesothelioma. William Berry testified that he was present when defendant Foster Wheeler removed and replaced asbestos insulation materials on their boilers, which were installed in the paper mill. The matter was tried before a jury who determined that Foster Wheeler was liable for the plaintiff’s injuries, and assessed a final award of $2.25 million against them.

Foster Wheeler …

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California / Other Asbestos News / Remand/Removal
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Asbestos Talc Cases Remanded to State Courts Despite Pending Bankruptcy of Talc Supplier

CALIFORNIA — On Tuesday, a federal court in California ordered that a group of asbestos talc personal injury cases must be remanded to state court on equitable grounds. Defendant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) had removed these actions to federal court in April on the basis of the pending bankruptcy of its sole talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, Inc., claiming that J&J’s supply agreements with Imerys contained contractual indemnifications and other liability-sharing provisions, and that they were “related” to Imerys’s bankruptcy proceedings in federal court in …

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South Carolina
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Jury Finds Johnson and Johnson not Liable for Causing Peritoneal Mesothelioma in Talc Case

South Carolina – A Richland County jury found Johnson and Johnson (J&J) not liable in a South Carolina peritoneal mesothelioma case. The plaintiff Beth Anee Johnson alleged that her and her mother’s use of J&J baby powder over the course of two decades caused her disease.

J&J attempted to move the case to Delaware to consolidate it with thousands of other cases. However, the case was remanded to South Carolina state court after a finding that the plaintiffs would suffer an injustice since trial was …

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Appeal / Missouri / Other Asbestos News
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Insurer of Long Defunct Employer May Be Held Liable Under “Enhanced Benefits” in Worker’s Compensation Statute

MISSOURI – The plaintiff passed from mesothelioma in 2015 as a result of alleged exposure to asbestos while working at Valley Farm Dairy Company. Specifically, it was alleged that Vincent Hegger encountered lots of industrial equipment, including fireboxes, boilers, and ammonia compressors while working at Valley Farm. Prior to his passing, Hegger and his children submitted a claim for worker’s compensation under the recently amended statute. The administrative law judge found that the plaintiff could not “elect” coverage under the amended statute because Valley Farm …

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