Mesothelioma: Asbestos Court Decisions

Decisions in our case-law library that involve mesothelioma: 2,859 cases, by state. Each line gives the exposure the court described, or else what it decided. For the topic itself, see Mesothelioma.

Louisiana

• Breaux v. Mine Safety Appliances Co. (5th Circuit, 1998). The appeals court reversed the trial court's grant of the exception of res judicata for Mine Safety Appliances, holding that the 1983 release did not bar plaintiff Breaux's later mesothelioma suit.
• Callaway v. Anco Insulation, Inc. (4th Circuit, 1998). The court granted Anco's writ in part, reversing the denial of summary judgment on the wrongful death and intentional tort claims (Anco won), but left in place the denial as to the survival action in negligence (plaintiffs won).
• Gauthe v. Asbestos Corp. Ltd. (5th Circuit, 1998). The court of appeal affirmed the trial court's dismissal with prejudice of the heirs' wrongful death claims against Avondale Industries, so Avondale won and the Gauthe heirs lost.
• Meredith v. Asbestos Corp., Ltd. (4th Circuit, 1998). The court granted the supervisory writs, reversed the denial of summary judgment for Todd and its insurers on the wrongful death actions and dismissed them, but affirmed the denial of summary judgment on the Meredith survival action, which was remanded.
• Re' v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (4th Circuit, 1998). The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's transfer of Diana Re's Orleans Parish suit to Jefferson Parish, ruling for defendants Garlock and W.R. Grace over her objection; one judge dissented.
• Ruckstuhl v. Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1st Circuit, 1998). The appeals court granted H & V's writ, reversed the trial court's denial of its exception of lack of personal jurisdiction, and dismissed Hollingsworth & Vose as a defendant, so H & V won and the Ruckstuhls lost on this issue.
• Scott v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. (4th Circuit, 1998). The court of appeal affirmed the trial court's judgment sustaining the defendants' exceptions of prescription, so the claims of Reilly's wife and children against Kaiser Aluminum and the other defendants were time-barred.
• Gauthe v. Asbestos Corp. Ltd. (5th Circuit, 1997). The court affirmed the trial court's ruling sustaining the Avondale executive officers' and insurer's exception of no cause of action against the Gauthe family's wrongful death claim, and remanded to let plaintiffs amend their petition.
• Potter v. Patterson (4th Circuit, 1997). The appeals court granted the plaintiffs' motion for new trial and vacated the 1992 dismissal with prejudice except as to settling defendant MSA, so the case was reinstated against the other defendants and remanded, against the defendants who appealed.
• Bergeron v. Celotex Corp. (1991). The court granted Foster Wheeler and Flintkote partial summary judgment dismissing the daughter Loretta Ann Young's wrongful death claim as prescribed, granted Foster Wheeler partial summary judgment dismissing both plaintiffs' wrongful death claims because workers' compensation was the exclusive remedy, and denied plaintiffs' motion to extend the deadline to amend pleadings.

Maine

• Coffin v. Ametek, Inc. (2021). The district court denied Maine Central Railroad's motion for summary judgment on Victor Coffin's FELA claim, finding foreseeability of asbestos exposure and harm a jury question.
• Coffin v. Ametek, Inc. (2020). The court denied Maine Central Railroad's and Honeywell's motions to exclude the plaintiff's expert witnesses Dr. Abraham (causation) and Dr. Ozonoff (state of the art), so the plaintiff Victor Coffin prevailed on the motions.
• Coffin v. Ametek, Inc. (2020). The district court denied defendant Maine Central Railroad's motion for leave to implead the Maine Department of Transportation as a third-party defendant, so plaintiff Victor Coffin prevailed on the motion.
• Soucy v. Briggs & Stratton Corporation (2014). The court denied Toro Company's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, so the plaintiff's asbestos claims against Toro go forward.
• Godbout v. WLB Holding, Inc. (2010). The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the Superior Court's dismissal of the Godbouts' complaint against WLB Holding, Inc., holding it was barred by the three-year statute of repose for dissolved corporations.
• Linnell, Choate & Webber v. Heyde (1971). The court granted the law firm's motion for summary judgment, denied the Deputy Commissioner's, and set aside the $1,450 attorneys' fee award in a widow's death-benefit case as arbitrary and an abuse of discretion, directing an amended award of at least $2,500 plus $675.93 in disbursements.

Maryland

• Irwin Industrial Tool Company v. Pifer (2022). The Court of Appeals of Maryland affirmed the Court of Special Appeals, which had reversed the exclusion of the eBay chalk samples and the summary judgment for Irwin, so the Pifer Estate won and the case was remanded.
• Barrett v. AW Chesterton Company (2021). The district court granted the unopposed summary judgment motions of John Crane Inc., Goulds Pumps LLC, Crane Co., and Schneider Electric USA (Square D) and dismissed them from the case, because no evidence showed their conduct was a substantial factor in Mr. Barrett's illness.
• Murphy v. Union Carbide Corporation (2021). The district court granted Robert Murphy's motion to remand to the Baltimore City Circuit Court because Hopeman Brothers failed to show a causal nexus for federal officer removal, and denied Hopeman's motion for leave to file a surreply.
• Pifer v. Irwin Industrial Tool Co. (2021). The Court of Special Appeals reversed the order excluding the Estate's eBay chalk samples, vacated the summary judgment for Irwin Industrial Tool Co., and remanded for further proceedings.
• Coates v. Ford Motor Company (2020). The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the judgment for Ford Motor Company after retrial, rejecting the Coates estate's challenges to the denial of partial summary judgment, the denial of a new trial, and the refusal to apply res judicata or collateral estoppel.
• Curtin v. Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. (2020). The court dismissed the claims against Cyprus and Avon without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction and granted plaintiffs' motion to voluntarily dismiss the claims against JJCI without prejudice, denying JJCI's surreply and pleadings motions.
• Pinner v. Pinner (2020). The Court of Appeals of Maryland affirmed the Court of Special Appeals, which had reversed the default judgment against Mona Pinner for lack of personal jurisdiction, so Mona won and her stepson Randy Pinner lost.
• Rossello v. Zurich American Insurance Company (2020). Affirmed the circuit court's partial summary judgment for Zurich, holding that the judgment Rossello won against Mitchell must be allocated pro rata by Zurich's time on the risk (1974-1985), not paid in full by Zurich.
• Ament v. John Crane-Houdalille, Inc. (2019). Affirmed the circuit court's judgment for John Crane, Inc., holding the trial court did not abuse its discretion in striking Dr. Frank's specific causation testimony, so the Aments lost.
• Barrett v. AW Chesterton Co. (2019). The court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand, holding that Westinghouse (CBS Corporation) timely removed the case and plausibly asserted a colorable federal officer defense.
• Colvin v. Eaton Corporation (2019). The Court of Special Appeals reversed the circuit court's dismissal with prejudice of Carole Colvin's wrongful death and survival action against Eaton, PACCAR and others, ruling for Ms. Colvin, and remanded for a new discovery plan and scheduling order.
• Crowe v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (2019). Affirmed the circuit court's judgment for CSX, holding that the LHWCA, as amended in 1972, applied to Mr. Crowe and was his exclusive remedy, so his FELA claim against CSX failed.
• Dugger v. Union Carbide Corporation (2019). The court denied Honeywell's motion for summary judgment, finding a genuine factual dispute over whether Bendix brake boxes carried asbestos warnings, so the plaintiffs' claims against Honeywell proceed.
• Dugger v. Union Carbide Corporation (2019). The court denied the plaintiffs' motions in limine to exclude supplemental reports by Honeywell's experts Crapo, Watson and Chirieac, finding the late disclosure harmless, but ordered Honeywell to pay reasonable costs of deposing the experts on the new material.
• Fullen v. 3M Company (2019). The court granted Velan Valve's unopposed summary judgment motion on cross-claims, denied plaintiffs' motion to strike Lockheed's late-designated fact witness, and granted Lockheed's motion, ruling that plaintiffs waived English law and Maryland law applies.
• Kerkhof v. Johnson & Johnson (2019). The District Court granted Carol and Stuart Kerkhof's motion to remand their talc mesothelioma suit to the Montgomery County Circuit Court, rejecting Johnson & Johnson's bankruptcy-based removal.
• Pinner v. Pinner (2019). The appeals court vacated the roughly $100,000 default judgment against Mona Pinner for lack of personal jurisdiction and affirmed the dismissal of Randy Pinner's claims against her former attorneys, so Randy lost on both the appeal and the cross-appeal.
• Sawyer v. Union Carbide Corporation (2019). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, barring Foster Wheeler's sophisticated user and superseding cause defenses; Foster Wheeler lost on both.
• Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust v. Busch (2019). The Court of Appeals of Maryland affirmed the Court of Special Appeals, leaving in place the jury verdict for William and Kathleen Busch against the Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust and rejecting the Trust's challenges.
• Duffy v. CBS Corporation (2018). The Court of Appeals of Maryland reversed the Court of Special Appeals and the grant of summary judgment for CBS Corporation (Westinghouse), holding the statute of repose did not bar the Estate of James Piper's claims, and remanded so the circuit court's judgment could be reversed.
• Estate of Schatz v. John Crane, Inc. (2018). The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the trial court's grant of judgment to John Crane, Inc. against the estate and daughters of Concetta Schatz, holding JCI owed Mrs. Schatz no duty to warn.
• Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Coates (2018). The Court of Special Appeals reversed the judgments for Coates against Mack Trucks and Ford on negligent failure to warn, and reversed the judgments for CertainTeed on Mack's and Ford's cross-claims, remanding for further proceedings; it held the evidence against Mack was legally sufficient.
• Sawyer v. Union Carbide Corporation (2018). The district court denied the plaintiffs' renewed motion to remand, holding that Foster Wheeler's federal officer removal was timely, so the case stays in federal court.
• Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust v. Busch (2018). The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the Baltimore City jury verdict and judgment for William Busch and his wife Kathleen against the Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust, which lost on all five of its claims of error.
• Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust v. Busch (2018). The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the judgment for the Busches against the Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust, holding that the evidence of causation was sufficient and that the evidentiary and jury-instruction rulings were not erroneous.
• Arbogast v. Georgia-Pacific LLC (2017). The district court denied the plaintiffs' Daubert motion to exclude the testimony of Georgia-Pacific's industrial hygienist expert, Donald Marano, so Georgia-Pacific won the motion.
• Arbogast v. Georgia-Pacific LLC (2017). The court granted CSXT Transportation's motion, treated as one for summary judgment, and dismissed the contribution claims by Georgia-Pacific and MCIC against CSXT because LHWCA exclusivity bars them; it also ordered defendants to show cause why the remaining claims should not be remanded to state court.
• Davenport v. Mcic, Inc. (2017). The Court of Special Appeals affirmed summary judgment for MCIC, Inc. (McCormick) and the Wallace & Gale Asbestos Settlement Trust, and the Davenport family lost.
• Duffy v. CBS Corporation (2017). The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the circuit court's summary judgment for CBS Corporation, holding that Maryland's statute of repose barred Piper's (later his estate's) asbestos claim against CBS.
• Fish v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation (2017). The magistrate judge granted in part and denied in part Ford Motor Company's motion for a protective order limiting the plaintiffs' 54 Rule 30(b)(6) areas of inquiry, largely for Ford, allowed the plaintiffs to submit narrowed topics, and denied the plaintiffs' motion to file a sur-reply.
• Hiett v. Ac&r Insulation Co., Inc. (2017). The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland affirmed the circuit court's summary judgment for AC&R Insulation Co., ruling against Daniel and Jessica Hiett.
• Rhodes v. Mcic, Inc. (2017). The court granted Honeywell's and Ingersoll Rand's motions for judgment on the pleadings because the plaintiffs' complaint failed to state a plausible claim, but allowed the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint by January 31, 2017.
• Rockman v. Union Carbide Corp. (2017). The court granted five unopposed partial summary judgment motions for Union Carbide and Georgia-Pacific, ending the kidney cancer, breach of warranty, fraud, conspiracy, market share liability, aiding and abetting and punitive damages claims; strict liability, negligence and loss of consortium claims remain.
• Sawyer v. Foster Wheeler LLC (2017). The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's remand order, holding Foster Wheeler met the federal officer removal requirements of § 1442(a)(1), and remanded for the district court to decide whether the removal notice was timely.