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.

California

• DeLOOF v. Ace Hardware Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for W.W. Henry Company and against the plaintiffs, the decedent's husband and son, because they had no evidence the decedent was exposed to an asbestos-containing product made by W.W. Henry.
• Johnson v. ArvinMeritor, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for ArvinMeritor, Maremont and Carlisle, so Johnson lost his claims against them.
• Johnson v. Dock (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Moore Dry Dock, finding plaintiffs Richard and Marcella Johnson had no admissible evidence that Johnson was exposed to asbestos from the defendant's products.
• Lyons v. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Colgate-Palmolive, finding that plaintiff Mary Lyons raised a triable issue on whether Cashmere Bouquet talc contained asbestos.
• Paulus v. JM Manufacturing Co., Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying J-M Manufacturing's renewed motion, filed about three years after the settled wrongful death case was dismissed, to seal a privileged memorandum in the court file; the plaintiffs prevailed.
• Petitpas v. Ford Motor Company (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for Exxon Mobil, Ford and Rossmoor, rejecting plaintiffs' challenges to the summary adjudication for Exxon, the nonsuit for Rossmoor, the jury instructions on Ford, and the defense verdict for Exxon.
• Phillips v. Honeywell International Inc. (5th Appellate District, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of about $5.88 million, including $3.5 million in punitive damages, for Phillips's wife and children against Honeywell (successor to Bendix), rejecting all of Honeywell's claims of error.
• Saller v. Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 1st Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed the $3.6 million punitive damages award against Crown Cork & Seal for lack of evidence of its own ability to pay, and affirmed the rest of the judgment for Saller's wife and daughters.
• Sandoval v. American Appliance Manufacturing Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment and summary adjudication for AAMC on the Sandovals' negligence, strict liability, loss of consortium and punitive damages claims, affirmed as to the premises liability and warranty claims they had dismissed, and remanded.
• Stewart v. Union Carbide Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed judgment for Union Carbide, upholding summary adjudication that Janet Stewart's loss of consortium claim was barred by res judicata and the setoff of her husband's asbestos trust settlements against her entire economic damages award.
• Thrash v. Cirrus Enterprises, LLC (2017). The district court denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand, holding the removing defendants (Boeing, UTC, Lockheed, Goodyear) had shown federal officer removal jurisdiction through a colorable government contractor defense.
• Zanowick v. Baxter Healthcare Corporation (2017). The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting the Zanowicks' motion to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice, rejecting Baxter Healthcare and Fisher Scientific's argument that Rule 25(a)(1) required dismissal with prejudice.
• Baeza v. Special Electric Company, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the defense judgment for Special Electric Company, rejecting the Baezas' claims of attorney misconduct in closing argument and of instructional and judicial error.
• Ballard v. Ameron International Corporation (2016). The court ordered removing defendant Ameron to show cause by October 27, 2016 why the case should not be remanded to state court and why costs and fees should not be imposed, finding Ameron had so far failed to establish federal jurisdiction.
• Botts v. US (2016). The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the United States and remanded for further proceedings, siding with Roger and Carol Botts.
• Casey v. Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for John and Patricia Casey against Kaiser Gypsum, rejecting Kaiser Gypsum's appeal and the Caseys' cross-appeal over the reduction of punitive damages to just under $4 million.
• Davis v. Honeywell International Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment on the jury verdict for plaintiff Nickole Davis against Honeywell International Inc., holding that the trial court properly admitted the plaintiff's expert and properly refused Honeywell's proposed causation instruction.
• DePREE v. BASF Catalysts LLC (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for BASF Catalysts, Eastern Magnesia Talc and Pita Realty, and the DePrees lost, because they showed only a possibility that Mr. DePree was exposed to asbestos-contaminated Emtal talc in Bondo.
• Gerlach v. Goodman Lumber Company (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Goodman Lumber Company and directed the trial court to vacate it, so plaintiffs (Charlifue's successor and wife) won a chance to proceed.
• Kesner v. Superior Court and Haver (2016). The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal in Haver (BNSF's demurrer had been sustained) in favor of the Havers, and vacated the Court of Appeal judgment in Kesner (Abex's nonsuit had been reversed), remanding both for further proceedings, finding employers and premises owners owe a duty to household members.
• Kordestani v. ExxonMOBIL Oil Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order dismissing plaintiffs' negligence claims against Exxon and remanded for further proceedings, and dismissed Exxon's cross-appeal on the choice-of-law ruling for lack of standing.
• Lepore v. Kelsey-Hayes Co. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment for Ford, Navistar and Kelsey-Hayes, finding triable issues on whether Lepore was exposed to asbestos from their products, and affirmed summary judgment for Gibbs International.
• Lopez v. Allied Packing & Supply Inc. (2016). The court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand, holding that Hillshire's removal more than one year after the action began was untimely, so the case returned to Alameda County Superior Court.
• Lund v. 3M Company (2016). The district court denied Electric Boat and General Dynamics' motion to reconsider its earlier denial of summary judgment on the Lund family's strict liability claims, so those claims stay alive for trial.
• Moran v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment for Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, which rested on a jury finding that Richard Moran was a sophisticated user, and remanded for retrial, with Moran recovering his appeal costs.
• Rondon v. Hennessy Industries, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's summary judgment for Hennessy Industries, holding that Renee Rondon, suing for her late husband's mesothelioma, raised triable issues on strict liability and negligence.
• The Marley-Wylain Co. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2nd Appellate District, 1st Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal granted Marley-Wylain's writ petition and directed the superior court to vacate its order denying the motion and to grant the motion to apply Michigan law to Swanson's claims against Marley-Wylain.
• Unterleitner v. BASF Catalysts LLC (2016). The federal court granted plaintiff Unterleitner's motion to remand to Alameda County Superior Court and ordered removing defendant O'Reilly to pay $4,200 in attorneys' fees, finding removal improper.
• Untermann v. D. Zelinsky & Sons, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for painting contractor D. Zelinsky & Sons, Inc., against plaintiff Desin (succeeded on appeal by his daughter Cheryl Untermann).
• Walashek v. Air & Liquid Systems Corporation (2016). The district court granted summary judgment to Lamons Gasket Company and Parker-Hannifin Corporation because the plaintiffs lacked evidence that Walashek was exposed to asbestos from their products, and ordered final judgment for those defendants.
• Walashek v. Air Liquid Systems Corporation (2016). The court denied Foster Wheeler's motions (joined by other defendants) to exclude the opinions of plaintiffs' experts Dr. Fishbein and Dr. Holstein, so plaintiffs may present both experts.
• Webb v. Special Electric Company, Inc. (2016). The California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal, which had reversed the trial court's judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Special Electric; the jury verdict for plaintiffs William and Jacqueline Webb against Special Electric stands.
• Casey v. Dynalectric Company (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment for Dynalectric Company and remanded, holding that the plaintiffs (Casey's wife and daughters) raised a triable issue on whether Dynalectric breached a duty of care.
• Fenicle v. Boise Cascade Company (2015). The district court granted the plaintiffs' motion and remanded the case to Alameda County Superior Court, holding removal under § 1441 was improper and that equitable grounds under § 1452(b) favored remand, against Boise Cascade and OfficeMax.
• Green v. CertainTEED Corporation (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed the summary judgments for CertainTeed, Bucyrus, Terex and Shell, ruling that Texas causation law applied and the Greens did not meet it, and it upheld the denial of new trial motions against the Greens.
• Hellam v. Crane Co. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal vacated the amended judgment against Crane Co. and remanded for recalculation of the setoff for the Rheem settlement, which it held was a postverdict settlement; it otherwise rejected Crane's challenges to the settlement credits.
• Hendricks v. Armstrong International, Inc. (2015). The court granted the Hendricks plaintiffs' motion to remand to state court, finding General Electric failed to show SoCal Edison was fraudulently joined and did not obtain consent of all remaining defendants to removal; GE lost.
• Leidig v. Zenith Electronics LLC (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Zenith Electronics LLC and against the Leidig family, finding no triable issue that the decedent was exposed to asbestos from a Zenith product.
• Marteney v. Union Carbide Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of Union Carbide's and Elementis's motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, leaving the strict-liability judgment for Marie Marteney in place.
• Melendrez v. Ameron International Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Ameron International Corporation, holding the workers' compensation exclusive remedy barred the Melendrez family's wrongful death suit, and affirmed the $80,719 expert fee award to Ameron under section 998.
• Murat v. Exxon Mobil Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Exxon Mobil Corp. and SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., finding no triable issue that they breached a duty of care to Mr. Murat, and the daughters lost.
• Quiroz v. BNSF Railway Company (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for BNSF Railway Company, ruling that the plaintiffs (Quiroz and the Thoms family) failed to raise a triable issue that Thoms was exposed to asbestos during his BNSF employment.
• Shiffer v. CBS Corporation (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for CBS Corporation (successor to Westinghouse) against plaintiffs James Shiffer and his wife, and upheld denial of their motions for reconsideration and a new trial.
• Soto v. BorgWarner Morse Tec Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed the nonsuit on the great-grandson Eli's wrongful death claim, the $2 million noneconomic awards to each daughter, and the 25 percent fault allocation to ASARCO, but reversed the $32.5 million punitive damages award against BorgWarner Morse TEC for lack of meaningful evidence of its financial condition.
• Uribes v. BASF Catalysts, LLC (2015). The federal district court granted the plaintiffs' motion to remand the wrongful death action to Santa Clara County Superior Court, finding BASF failed to prove E.T. Horn was fraudulently joined, and denied the plaintiffs' request for attorney's fees and costs.
• Walton v. OneBeacon Ins. Co. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for OneBeacon Insurance Company, which was entitled to subrogation to its insured Powell's $163,589.37 appellate costs judgment against Edward Walton, and affirmed denial of Walton's new trial motion.
• Beckering v. Shell Oil Co. (2nd Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2014). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Shell Oil Company, holding Shell owed no duty to Beckering, who alleged mesothelioma from laundering her husband's work clothes; one justice dissented.
• Boyd v. Super. CT. OF Alameda County (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2014). The Court of Appeal granted Gerald and Judith Boyd's writ petition and directed the superior court to vacate its denial of trial preference and set trial within 120 days of October 31, 2014, over opposition from three defendants.
• Ganoe v. Metalclad Insulation Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2014). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment granted to Metalclad Insulation Corporation, ruling that Metalclad had not met its initial burden and that the plaintiffs had raised triable issues of fact, and awarded costs to the plaintiffs.
• Gottschall v. Crane Co. (1st Appellate District, 2nd Division, 2014). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Crane Co. and remanded with instructions to deny Crane's motion, so the Gottschall family won.