Joseph Slovak v. Johns-Manville Corporation, Complaint and Settlement (1946)

A four-page complaint filed in the New Jersey Supreme Court for Somerset County by Joseph Slovak of Manville, New Jersey, who had worked for many years at Johns-Manville's Manville plant until 1945. He claimed that J-M knew or should have known its asbestos processes produced "dangerous, insidious and harmful dust," and failed to ventilate, test the air, provide respirators or warn him. He said he now had pneumoconiosis and a worsened heart condition, and asked $40,000 on each of two counts. A J-M request for a check dated February 14, 1947, pays $500 to Slovak and his lawyers "in settlement of Common Law action."

What it shows

The second count relied on New Jersey labor laws requiring employers to provide devices and ventilation to prevent disease and make dust harmless "as far as practicable." Like the Szymanski suit filed the same year, this was a negligence case brought outside workers' compensation by a man from J-M's main New Jersey plant. The company settled it for a small fraction of the amount claimed.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

Slovak v. J-M. Manville plant worker claim ($40,000 prayer); settled in 1947 for $750.

Editor's note: J-M's description says the case settled in 1947 for $750. The check request in the file, dated February 14, 1947, is for $500 "in settlement of Common Law action."