Pleural Mesothelioma: Asbestos Court Decisions

Decisions in our case-law library that involve pleural mesothelioma: 362 cases, by state. Each line gives the exposure the court described, or else what it decided. For the topic itself, see Pleural Mesothelioma.

Washington

• Morgan v. Aurora Pump Co. (1st Division, 2011). The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's summary judgment dismissal of the Morgans' claims against the pump and valve makers (Aurora, Buffalo, IMO, Warren, Weir and Powell) and remanded for trial.
• Kimball v. Asbestos Corporation Ltd. (1st Division, 2008). The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's summary judgment for Elliott Company and ruled for Ernest Kimball, finding enough evidence of exposure and causation for a jury; it did not review the order striking evidence.
• Weyerhaeuser Company v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Company (2008). The federal district court granted Fireman's Fund's cross-motion and denied Weyerhaeuser's cross-motion, ruling that the earliest triggered policy year for the Anderson and Reed claims is 1965, the first year of exposure to Weyerhaeuser's asbestos-containing products.
• Herring v. Texaco, Inc. (2007). The Washington Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated summary judgment for Todd Shipyards, holding Todd's bankruptcy discharged Herring's claim because he was entitled only to publication notice.
• Viereck v. Fibreboard Corp. (1st Division, 1996). The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment on the jury verdict for Virgil Viereck's estate and his wife Julia Viereck against Owens-Corning Fiberglas, holding that pre-WPLA law applied and that the evidentiary rulings were within the trial court's discretion.
• Krivanek v. Fibreboard Corp. (1st Division, 1993). The court affirmed the liability finding against Owens-Corning Fiberglas and the damages awards to Mr. Krivanek's estate and children, but reversed the denial of a new trial on Mrs. Krivanek's damages and remanded for retrial on her damages only.
• White v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1985). The Washington Supreme Court answered the federal court's certified question yes, holding the discovery rule applies to wrongful death and survival actions, so the widow's claims against the asbestos defendants were not barred as a matter of law.

West Virginia

• Swiger v. AR Wilfley & Sons, Inc. (2020). The district court granted the plaintiff estate's emergency motion to remand and sent the case back to the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, rejecting the removal by J-M Manufacturing, Core & Main and Mueller.

Wisconsin

• Ahnert v. Employers Insurance Company OF Wausau (2016). The court denied Pabst Brewing Company's motion for summary judgment, leaving the executrix's safe-place negligence claim over Daniel Ahnert's mesothelioma to proceed against Pabst.
• Calewarts v. CR Meyer & Sons Company (3rd District, 2015). The court reversed the judgment dismissing June Calewarts' claims, ordering that several of the defendants' motions in limine be denied in whole or part, while upholding the exclusion of lay opinion that the insulation contained asbestos and of the OSHA documents (a partial win for Calewarts against CR Meyer, International Paper and others).
• Peter v. Sprinkmann Sons Corp. (2015). The court of appeals reversed summary judgment for Sprinkmann Sons Corp. and remanded, holding the construction statute of repose did not bar Pamela Peter's claim because Sprinkmann's daily insulation repairs were not improvements to real property, though the pre-1994 damages exception did not apply.
• Sopha v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1999). The Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed the circuit court's order dismissing the Sophas' mesothelioma action against Owens-Corning and the other defendants as time-barred, and remanded for further proceedings.