Virginia Supreme Court: Asbestos Cases

Our case-law library holds 15 asbestos decisions from the Virginia Supreme Court (1979–2018). Each links to our summary and the full opinion.

• State: Virginia
• Kind of court: State supreme court

Decisions

• Quisenberry v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated (2018). On a question certified by a federal district court, the Supreme Court of Virginia answered that an employer owes a duty of care to an employee's family member allegedly exposed to asbestos from the employee's work clothes, favoring the estate of Wanda Quisenberry over Huntington Ingalls (the Shipyard); three justices dissented.
• Cole v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company (2017). The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the circuit court's grant of Norfolk Southern's plea in bar, holding the 2000 release barred the executor's FELA lung cancer claim, so the estate lost.
• Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. v. Cantrell (2015). The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the circuit court's order allowing Cantrell to nonsuit his claims, ruling for the appealing defendants (twelve premises defendants and Huntington Ingalls), and remanded for further proceedings.
• Exxon Mobil Corporation v. Minton (2013). The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the jury verdict for Minton against Exxon Mobil and remanded for further proceedings, because the trial court wrongly excluded evidence of the Shipyard's knowledge and safety measures. It also reversed the punitive damages award and entered final judgment on that claim for Exxon.
• Ford Motor Co. v. Boomer (2013). The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the jury verdict and judgment for the estate against Ford and Honeywell (Bendix) because of the "substantial contributing factor" jury instructions, and remanded for further proceedings under a multiple-sufficient-causes standard.
• Kiser v. AW Chesterton Co. (2013). Answering a question certified by the Third Circuit, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the executrix's mesothelioma wrongful death claim accrued at the earlier asbestosis diagnosis, not the mesothelioma diagnosis, which favored the defendants (two justices dissented).
• Gibbs v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (2012). The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the circuit court's dismissal, which had sustained Newport News Shipbuilding's plea in bar, and remanded; the estate of Kenneth Gibbs won and the Shipyard lost.
• John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick (2012). On rehearing, the Supreme Court of Virginia reinstated the $2 million award to Hardick's estate for his pre-death pain and suffering against John Crane, Inc., while the $1.15 million loss of society award stayed vacated.
• John Crane, Inc. v. Hardick (2012). The Supreme Court of Virginia held that the jury could not award nonpecuniary damages ($2 million for pain and suffering and $1.15 million for loss of society) because Hardick was a seaman, vacated those awards in John Crane's favor, and otherwise affirmed the judgment for Mrs. Hardick, including the exclusion of John Crane's Navy expert.
• John Crane, Inc. v. Jones (2007). The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the judgment for the Estate of Garland Jones against John Crane, Inc., rejecting all four of Crane's challenges.
• Garlock Sealing Technologies, LLC v. Little (2005). The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the judgment for the estate of Zebulon Little against Garlock Sealing, holding maritime tort law governed and refusing to review Garlock's complaint about apportionment of damages.
• Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. v. Watson (1992). The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the judgment for Watson's estate against Owens-Corning, upholding the compensatory and punitive damages awarded by the jury.
• Roller v. Basic Const. Co. (1989). The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the Court of Appeals, which had affirmed the Industrial Commission's dismissal of Mrs. Roller's claim as time-barred, and remanded for further proceedings limited to the subrogation question, so Mrs. Roller won on limitations and Basic Construction lost.
• Locke v. Johns-Manville (1981). The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the trial court's summary judgments for Johns-Manville and the other defendants, holding the mesothelioma suit was not time-barred, and remanded for further proceedings.
• Caudle-Hyatt, Inc. v. Mixon (1979). The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the Industrial Commission's award of death benefits to Lucille Mixon (and her stepchild), rejecting the employer Caudle-Hyatt and its insurer Aetna's challenges on dependency and injurious exposure.