List of Asbestos Products Used at Trial to Refresh Plaintiff’s Recollection in Multi-Million Dollar Verdict

NEW YORK – A New York Appellate Court upheld the trial court’s finding that the plaintiff Pietro Macaluso’s use of a list of products to refresh his recollection of alleged exposure to asbestos was proper in a recent multi-million dollar verdict. The verdict was stipulated down to $10 million for pain and suffering, $9 million for Macaluso’s son’s loss of parental guidance, and $10 million for his daughter’s loss of parental guidance. The court also ordered a new trial on damages to $4 million for pain and suffering and $1 million for each of the children’s loss of parental guidance. The court found that the damages award materially deviated from “reasonable compensation.” The court also noted that the jury’s finding of recklessness was “supported by legally sufficient evidence” and that the plaintiff’s experts established that removal of boilers “resulted in exposure to asbestos dust in sufficient quantities to cause decedent’s mesothelioma.” Finally, the court upheld the trial court’s jury charge on the duty to warn as the evidence was sufficient that boilers contained asbestos-containing products from third-parties, and/or that asbestos-containing products would be used in conjunction with defendants’ products.

The case decision is provided with permission of Westlaw here.