Belcher v. Johns-Manville Products Corporation, Complaints and Motion to Dismiss (1935)

Court papers, 15 pages, in Andy Belcher's suit against Johns-Manville over his work at the Waukegan, Illinois, plant. His complaint, filed April 11, 1935, in the Circuit Court of Lake County, said he had worked there since 1929 handling "various forms of asbestos, silica, finely powdered rock and stone" and running machines, that J-M failed to warn him or provide masks, blowers or suction fans, and that after four years he had asbestosis, silicosis and other lung disease; he asked $25,000. The papers include an amended complaint filed May 4, 1935, a notice listing about 20 such Waukegan suits to be amended together, and J-M Products Corporation's motion to dismiss in the federal court in Chicago.

What it shows

J-M's lawyers, Heth & Lister, argued that Illinois law gave an employee no right to sue his employer for an occupational disease and that any such right was barred by the Workmen's Compensation Act. The notice of May 3, 1935, filed by the plaintiffs' lawyers Leo M. Tarpey, Drake H. Berg and Lloyd T. Bailey, shows how many Waukegan workers were suing at once.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

Various pleadings filed in Andy Belcher v. J-M Products Corp. Complaint was filed on 4/11/35 in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois. Case was removed to the U.S.D.C., Illinois. Belcher was an asbestos handler and machine operator at J-M's Waukegan plant for approximately four years.

About this copy

This is document 692 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-002409 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-002423.