Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Asbestos Cases

Our case-law library holds 4 asbestos decisions from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1987–2018). Each links to our summary and the full opinion.

• State: Massachusetts
• Kind of court: State supreme court

Decisions

• Stearns v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (2018). Answering a question certified by the federal district court, the court held that the six-year statute of repose in G. L. c. 260, § 2B bars the estate's asbestos tort claims against General Electric, even though the disease has a long latency and GE had control of the site; this favored GE and went against the Oliver estate.
• Sullivan v. Chief Justice for Administration and Management of the Trial Court (2006). The Supreme Judicial Court held that the courthouse occupants' declaratory-relief and estoppel claims against the Chief Justice for Administration and Management survived the motion to dismiss, dismissed the nuisance, assault and battery, environmental-law and general-superintendence counts, and remanded.
• Letteney's (dependent's) Case (1999). The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the reviewing board's decision, which favored Hercules and the Workers' Compensation Trust Fund and went against the claimant widow, holding that her husband's self-employment wages in Florida could not be used to set the compensation rate.
• O'connor v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1987). The court affirmed the judgment for Raymark Industries after a jury found O'Connor was exposed to Raymark's asbestos products but that the exposure did not cause his mesothelioma; the executrix lost.