U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit: Asbestos Cases

Our case-law library holds 19 asbestos decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (1982–2023). Each links to our summary and the full opinion.

• Kind of court: Federal appeals court

Decisions

• Johnson v. Edward Orton, JR. Ceramic Foundation (2023). The Seventh Circuit reversed summary judgment for Orton and remanded, holding that a jury could find Orton owed Bruce Johnson a duty before and after September 1981; it declined to reach causation.
• Amling v. Harrow Industries LLC (2019). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal, without prejudice, of the Amlings' federal declaratory judgment action against Harrow, holding the dispute was ripe but the district court properly declined to hear it.
• Kilty v. Weyerhaeuser Company (2019). The Seventh Circuit dismissed Weyerhaeuser's interlocutory appeal as moot because the district court had since granted Weyerhaeuser summary judgment on the merits; the estates' motion to dismiss the appeal was granted.
• Betzner v. Boeing Co. (2018). The Seventh Circuit reversed the district court's sua sponte remand to Illinois state court and remanded for further proceedings, holding Boeing's notice of removal was sufficient; Boeing won and the Betzners lost on this point.
• Krik v. Exxon Mobil Corp. (2017). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the judgment for Exxon Mobil and Owens-Illinois after a jury found cigarettes were the sole cause of Krik's lung cancer, holding that excluding Dr. Frank's causation testimony and the Helsinki document was not an abuse of discretion and that the juror investigation did not prejudice Krik.
• Pecher v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2017). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' claims against Weyerhaeuser and Owens-Illinois, and ordered plaintiffs' counsel to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed.
• Tkk USA, Inc. v. Safety National Casualty Corp. (2013). The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for TKK (Thermos), holding Safety National's excess policy covered TKK's costs of defending and settling the Perkins mesothelioma suit, and affirmed the denial of most section 155 fees and the small fee award for the motion to reconsider.
• Ruppel v. CBS Corporation (2012). The Seventh Circuit reversed the district court's remand order and remanded, holding CBS (Westinghouse's successor) properly removed the case under the federal officer removal statute because it had a colorable government contractor defense; Ruppel lost on remand.
• Sybron Transition Corp. v. Security Ins. (2001). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the bench-trial judgment that Security Insurance's share of the Press settlement was $230,208 and that Sybron/Kerr must refund the excess of Security's $500,000 contribution.
• McClain v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1998). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting Betti McClain a new trial limited to wrongful death damages and its exclusion of evidence of her cohabitation, so Owens-Corning lost.
• Sybron Transition v. Sec. Ins. Co. of Hartford (1997). The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Hartford, holding that Sybron's 22-month delay in notifying Hartford of the Press claims barred coverage and that Hartford was entitled to recover its $500,000 settlement contribution.
• Braun v. Lorillard Inc. (1996). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the judgment on a jury verdict for Lorillard and Hollingsworth & Vose, rejecting the plaintiff's challenges to the district judge's evidentiary rulings.
• Barnes v. Keene Corp. (1995). The Seventh Circuit reversed the refusal to impose joint and several liability and remanded for judgment against the four remaining defendants (Keene, Manville, Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Owens-Illinois), but affirmed the single judgment in all other respects, so widow Ruth Barnes won on liability and lost on the form of judgment.
• Matter of Unr Industries, Inc. (1994). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's refusal to disturb UNR's substantially consummated reorganization plan, rejecting the Bloomington factory workers' challenge, though it disagreed that the case was moot.
• Peerman v. Georgia-Pacific Corp. (1994). The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Georgia-Pacific and Turner & Newall (T & N), holding that Mrs. Peerman did not produce evidence that her husband inhaled asbestos dust from the defendants' products.
• Ocasek v. Manville Corp. Asbestos Comp. Fund (1992). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling that the $3,629,191.20 judgment for Hugh Wilson's estate against the Manville Trust would not accrue post-judgment interest, so the estate lost on the interest issue.
• Tragarz v. Keene Corp. (1992). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the $3,000,000 judgment for Grace Tragarz against Keene and Owens-Corning Fiberglas, but reversed the denial of Keene's request to file a contribution cross-claim against OCF and remanded for proceedings between the two defendants.
• United States v. Croft (1984). The Seventh Circuit affirmed William Croft's conviction for converting to his own use the services of a research assistant paid with EPA grant funds, so the United States prevailed.
• Neubauer v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1982). The Seventh Circuit, on interlocutory appeal, rejected the district court's rule that the limitations period runs from last exposure, and also rejected the plaintiffs' discovery rule. It held that Wisconsin law starts the period when the disease becomes diagnosable, a rule that favors the manufacturer defendants, and remanded for further proceedings.