Lasin v. Johns-Manville, Court Papers (1929)

Court papers (35 pages) in the death suit Pauline Lasin brought against Johns-Manville Corporation for her husband John, who worked at J-M's Manville, New Jersey, plant and died on February 3, 1929. The complaint, issued in the New Jersey Supreme Court on August 10, 1929, said asbestos "fibers and particles" had infected his "bronchial tubes, lungs and body" and that he was never warned of the danger, and asked $40,000. J-M removed the case to federal court, with New York Indemnity Company as surety on the removal bond, and denied liability. In February 1930 it moved to dismiss, filing a handwritten statement taken from Mrs. Lasin at her home on November 5, 1929, in which she said she did not want to sue the company; the case was discontinued in April 1930.

What it shows

The statement was taken by Emil Ramer in the presence of Archibald Hughes, general manager of the Manville plant, and the town's community nurse, and was translated for Mrs. Lasin from Polish. J-M used it to argue that the suit had been brought without her authority. Her lawyer then told the court he did not wish to go on against his client's wishes, and the court discontinued the case. The file shows a plant manager taking part in gathering the evidence that ended a widow's dust claim.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

Various pleadings filed in Pauline Lasin v. J-M Corp. (Deceased: John Lasin). Complaint was filed on 8/23/29 in the Supreme Court of Somerset County, New Jersey. Case was removed to the U.S.D.C., New Jersey. Lasin was a textile worker at J-M's Manville plant for approximately 2 years. New York Indemnity was the surety on the removal bond.

Related documents

• Anna Pirskowski's Suit Against Johns-Manville, Federal Court File (1929)

About this copy

This is document 747 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-003690 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-003724.