Asbestos and Lung Cancer: Asbestos Court Decisions

Decisions in our case-law library that involve lung cancer: 256 cases, by state. Each line gives the exposure the court described, or else what it decided. For the topic itself, see Asbestos and Lung Cancer.

New York

• Montebianco v. AO Smith Corp. (2018). The court denied the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate the Montebianco and Reilly asbestos cases for a joint trial, so the defendants prevailed on the motion.
• American Home Assur. Co. v. Port Auth. of NY & NJ (2017). The court denied American Home's motion for partial summary judgment and granted the Port Authority's, Alcoa's and Tishman's motions in part, declaring that coverage was triggered, the fireproofing claims were not a single occurrence, the policy was not exhausted, and the duty to defend survived exhaustion.
• Cunningham v. Aerco Intl. (2017). The court granted in part the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate eleven asbestos cases, ordering four joint-trial groups of two or three cases each and separate trials for the Keith and Reno cases over the defendants' objections.
• Appleton v. Allied Signal (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2017). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion in part, consolidating the Appleton and Howell cases for a joint trial and ordering the Watts, Kertesz and Vanderhall cases tried individually, over the defendants' opposition.
• Brooks v. AIR & LIQUID SYSTEMS CORPORATION (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2017). The court granted in part the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate eighteen asbestos actions for trial, ordering six consolidated groups of two or three plaintiffs and trying five other plaintiffs individually, over the defendants' opposition.
• Aquitato v. AMCHEM PRODUCTS, INC. (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2017). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate in part, grouping some living and some deceased plaintiffs for joint trials and ordering the rest tried individually over the defendants' objections.
• Acosta v. Avocet Enterprises (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig.) (2016). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate in part, ordering joint trials of Acosta and Smith (Group 1) and of Clark, Guerra and Votta (Group 2), and refusing to consolidate Battistoni's case with the others, over the defendants' objections.
• Cuzzolino v. A.O. Smith Water Prods. (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2015). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate eight asbestos actions into three groups for joint trial, over the defendants' objections.
• Brady v. Crane Co. (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2015). The court granted plaintiffs' motion to consolidate 13 asbestos cases for joint trial only in part: it ordered joint trials for Miceli and Ward, for Carey, Falkenmeyer and Frick, and for Nash and Pettinelli, and ordered Miller, Brady, McCormick, Morgan, Castorina and Padula tried separately, over defendants' objections.
• Flahive v. 3M Co. (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2015). The court granted plaintiffs' motion to consolidate in part, joining the Flahive and Germain actions for one trial and the Izbicki and Jalowski actions for another over defendants' opposition, but ordered the Valensi action tried separately.
• Quinlan v. Marine Transport Lines (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig.) (2015). The court granted Marine Transport Lines' motion to dismiss as time-barred, refusing equitable tolling, and severed Marine and dismissed the complaint against it; the Quinlan estate plaintiffs lost.
• Best v. The William Powell Co. (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig.) (2015). The court denied the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate the Best/Nefsey and Rocovich/Weil asbestos cases for joint trial, so the opposing defendants prevailed.
• Moore v. AERCO Int'l (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2015). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate nine asbestos actions into three groups for joint trial, over the defendants' objections.
• Citron v. AO Smith Water Prods. (2014). The court denied Trane U.S., Inc. (formerly American Standard) summary judgment, so the plaintiffs, the Citron family and estate, kept their claims against it.
• Abrams v. Foster Wheeler (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2014). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion in part, consolidating the Bova, Futia, Gay and McGinnity actions for a joint trial and ordering the Obremski and Abrams actions tried separately.
• In re New York City Asbestos Litigation v. Certainteed Corp. (2014). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate 17 asbestos actions into groups for joint trial, except that it split the proposed Group 1 into two groups (1(a) and 1(b)); the defendants' prejudice objections were rejected.
• Feuerman v. A.O. Smith Water Prods. Co. (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig.) (2014). The court granted plaintiffs' motion for joint trials in part, ordering the four mesothelioma cases tried together, the three lung cancer cases tried together separately, and the Bova case tried individually.
• Assenzio v. AO Smith Water Prods. (2013). The court granted plaintiffs' motion in part, consolidating 15 asbestos cases into three joint trial groups and ordering the Liberman and Vara cases tried separately, over the defendants' objections.
• Baiocco v. AC & S., Inc. (2013). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate in part, ordering three joint trials (Byrnes, Cayen and Latzer; Dell'Arciprete and Kornacki; Baiocco and Blank) and ordering the Balducci case tried separately.
• Barton v. AO Smith Water Prods. Co. (2013). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion in part, ordering three joint trials: the three lung cancer plaintiffs together, four mesothelioma plaintiffs together, and the three shipyard or Army mesothelioma plaintiffs together.
• Fersch v. Volkswagen Group of America (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig.) (1st Dept., 2013). The First Department affirmed the trial court's order consolidating the Juni, Fersch and Middleton cases for trial, ruling against Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., which had appealed.
• Dietrich v. A.O. Smith Water Prods. Co. (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2013). The court granted plaintiffs' motion to consolidate in part, ordering joint trials of the three lung cancer plaintiffs, of a group of mesothelioma plaintiffs, and of a separate group of Dietrich, McDonald and Yetter, rather than the two groups plaintiffs requested.
• Ambruso v. Goulds Pumps (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2013). The court granted plaintiffs' motion to consolidate 15 asbestos cases into four joint-trial groups (Navy, Construction, Automotive, Building Maintenance) over the defendants' opposition.
• Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation v. AW Chesterton Co., Inc. (2013). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion for a joint trial only for Carlucci, Krekora and Lightsy, and ordered the Fishbein, Frieder, Perez and Ryan cases tried separately.
• Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation v. Baxter Healthcare Corporation (1st Dept., 2013). The appellate court affirmed the trial court's order consolidating the three plaintiffs' cases for trial, rejecting Volkswagen Group of America's challenge to consolidation.
• Adler v. Air & Liquid Sys. Corp. (2012). The trial court granted the plaintiffs' motion for a joint trial only in part, ordering the 22 in extremis cases tried in three disease-based groups (lung cancer, non-Navy mesothelioma, Navy mesothelioma) and severing Vega and Neuer for separate trials, over the defendants' objections to any joinder.
• Auletta v. Crane Co (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation Cluster) (2011). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion in part, ordering one joint trial of the four Navy/shipyard cases and another of six other cases, with the remaining cases in the cluster to be tried individually, rather than one trial of all ten cases the plaintiffs wanted; the defendants' opposition to joint trials failed except as to size.
• Batista v. A.O. Smith Water Prods. (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig.) (2010). The court granted plaintiffs' motion for a joint trial in part, joining five mesothelioma cases for one trial and two lung cancer cases for a later trial over defendants' objections, and stayed the Link case until a personal representative is substituted for the deceased plaintiff.
• Ballard v. Anchor Packing Co. (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2009). The trial court partly granted the plaintiffs' motion to join twelve asbestos cases for trial, ordering two joint trials: nine mesothelioma cases first, then three lung cancer cases.
• In re New York City Asbestos Litigation v. AC & S., Inc. (2009). The court granted plaintiffs' motion in part, consolidating the Flynn, McNamara and Troiano cases for one joint trial and the Browne, Buschi, Cozzocrea and Mauro cases for a later joint trial, over the defendants' objections, while ordering the Dalton and Zeitler cases tried separately.
• Barnes v. AO Smith Water Products Co. (2008). The trial court granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs' motion for joint trials. It ordered Bougadis, Boyle, Priolo, Schnabel and Palmieri to be tried together and kept the Montross, Perdicaro, Enea and Iqbal cases separate, over the defendants' general opposition.
• Grossman v. AO Smith Water Products Co. (2008). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion and ordered the four asbestos cases tried jointly over the defendants' objections.
• IN the Matter of United States Lines Inc. (2006). The district court affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's order expunging the proofs of claim of merchant mariners Murphy, White and Keating as untimely under the Rolling Bar Date Order, in favor of the U.S. Lines Trust.
• Dankenbrink v. Foster Wheeler (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation) (2006). The court granted in part the plaintiffs' motion to consolidate: it ordered joint trials of Dankenbrink, Gualdoni, Singer and Levine, and of Cettina and Goldstein. It tried Decibus and Rosato separately, severed Pieper and Eichner because maritime law is implicated, and denied the plaintiffs' request for reverse bifurcation, as the defendants had urged.
• Matter of Conway v. Cbi Services, Inc. (3rd Dept., 2003). The Appellate Division affirmed the Workers' Compensation Board's decision holding CBI Services and its carrier National Union liable on the widow's death benefits claim, rejecting their due process, evidence and settlement-consent arguments.
• Conway v. Raymark Indus. (In re Asbestos Litigation) (1997). The court denied Raymark Industries' motion to dismiss, stay or transfer the asbestos actions of McPadden, Ciletti and Strafford, so the plaintiffs prevailed on the motion.
• In re Waterman SS Corp. (1996). After remand, the bankruptcy court sided with the claimants on the operative date (the earlier claims bar date, not the confirmation date Waterman wanted) and with Waterman Steamship on burden of proof, joinder of all 3,500 claimants and wrongful-death accrual; it found the medical evidence too thin to decide most claims, reopened discovery, and ruled on 15 individual claimants.

North Carolina

• McDaniel v. John Crane, Inc. (2021). The district court granted Covil Corporation summary judgment on all claims and excluded plaintiffs' expert Charles Ay, finding no evidence of exposure to Covil-attributable asbestos and, alternatively, no duty owed to the spouse of a non-employee; the case was dismissed.
• McDaniel v. John Crane, Inc. (2021). The district court granted summary judgment to Daniel International Corporation on all of Deborah and Kenneth McDaniel's claims and denied Daniel's motions in limine as moot.
• Bullard v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1979). The Court of Appeals reversed the Industrial Commission's order awarding death benefits to Bullard's widow and children, ruling for Johns-Manville and Travelers.

North Dakota

• Black v. Abex Corp. (1999). The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Allied-Signal, Borg-Warner, Chrysler and General Motors, dismissing Rochelle Black's market share and alternative liability claims.

Ohio

• Arpin v. Consol. Rail Corp. (8th Appellate District, 2016). The appeals court affirmed the trial court's denial of summary judgment to Conrail and APU, holding that Arpin's 2007 release of an earlier asbestosis claim did not bar his later lung cancer claim, so Arpin prevailed.
• Dennis v. Gen. Motors Corp. (3rd Appellate District, 2016). The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of General Motors' motion for summary judgment, so the widow Fayrene Dennis kept her jury verdict allowing her to participate in the workers' compensation fund.
• Bryant v. General Motors Corp. (3rd Appellate District, 2015). The court of appeals affirmed the jury verdict for Loretta Bryant, which found her husband's asbestos exposure at GM contributed to his fatal lung cancer and entitled her to workers' compensation death benefits, and rejected GM's challenges to the directed-verdict ruling and two evidence rulings.
• Dean v. Bur. OF Workers'comp. (5th Appellate District, 2010). The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for Conesville Coal Preparation, American Electric Power and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, rejecting the widow's claim for death benefits.
• Gomcsak v. US Steel Corp. (9th Appellate District, 2008). The court of appeals affirmed the Lorain County judgment on the jury verdict for U.S. Steel, rejecting the widow Phyllis Gomcsak's challenges to the limit on her expert's testimony and to the denial of a new trial.
• Penn v. A-Best Prods. Co. (10th Appellate District, 2007). The appeals court affirmed in part and reversed in part the trial court's denial of the plaintiffs' motions to prove a prima facie case under H.B. 292. It reversed as to Ward's non-smoker lung cancer claim and the colon and laryngeal cancer claims, and remanded for a determination of whether those claims accrued under the 'should have known' clause; defendants largely lost on the statutory issues.
• State ex rel. Hiatt v. Indus. Comm. (2003). The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' denial of a writ of mandamus, upholding the Industrial Commission's award of only the statutory minimum death benefit to the widow, Hiatt, over her claim for a higher award.

Oklahoma

• Fisher v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp. (1989). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal, treated as summary judgment, holding that Fisher's 1986 mesothelioma suit was barred by his earlier release, so the asbestos defendants won and the Fishers lost.

Other federal courts

• In re Federal-Mogul Global, Inc. (2002). The Third Circuit held it lacked jurisdiction to review the District Court's denial of transfer and remand of the friction-product asbestos claims to state courts, and denied the automakers' and other defendants' requests for mandamus.