Vandiver Brown to J. P. Woodard on Settling Slovak v. Johns-Manville (1947)

A one-page memo of February 7, 1947, from Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's attorney, to J. P. Woodard at J-M's headquarters, copied to C. F. Hite, J. E. Begert at the Manville plant and H. M. Jackson. Brown reports that Joseph Slovak's common-law suit for $40,000, filed in December 1946, "raised some very close questions of law," and that the worker's lawyer, who "apparently felt his case was none too strong," had offered to settle for $750. Brown had authorized a settlement of no more than that, "since it is very much less than what we would have to expend if it went to trial."

What it shows

Brown adds that "any future claim for occupational disability resulting from exposure to dust will be governed by the Occupational Diseases Law" (see Occupational Disease Act). No one who had left J-M in 1944, before the law took effect on January 1, 1945, could now sue at common law, he writes, "inasmuch as a 2-year statute of limitations applies to such claims." The company's lawyer was weighing the suit by its cost and noting that the door to such suits by former workers was closing. The suit, and the $500 check request that closed it a week later, are at Joseph Slovak v. Johns-Manville Corporation, Complaint and Settlement (1946); the dust counts gathered for the defense are at J. E. Begert to Vandiver Brown on Dust Counts at the Manville Factory (1947).

About this copy

The page is marked as exhibit "CE-1" from a later case.