Inactive Docket

An inactive docket is a court program that sets aside asbestos cases filed by people who have been exposed, or have early signs such as pleural plaques, but are not currently impaired. The cases stay on hold, with the right to sue preserved, until the person develops a qualifying disease or impairment.

Origin

As asbestos filings surged, especially claims from mass screenings of people without symptoms, several state and local courts created inactive or deferred dockets so that cases of seriously ill people could move ahead. More courts adopted them in the early 2000s, and some states later passed medical criteria laws with similar effect.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Inactive dockets try to balance two concerns: people with mesothelioma or other serious disease need their cases heard quickly, but people with exposure and mild findings should not lose their claims because a statute of limitations ran. A case on an inactive docket is typically paused, and limitations are often tolled, until the plaintiff shows a qualifying diagnosis or impairment, when it can be moved to the active docket. Each court sets its own criteria and procedures, and they differ in what medical evidence is needed. In places with separate disease rules, a person may not need to file until the more serious disease appears. Whether an inactive docket exists, and how it works, depends on the court.

Example Sentence

His pleural plaques case was placed on the inactive docket in 2003 and was reactivated when he was diagnosed with asbestosis in 2015.

Related Terms

Unimpaired Claimant, Medical Criteria Statute, Pleural Plaques, Separate Disease Rule, Tolling, Statute of Limitation

Notes

• If you have plaques but no symptoms, ask a lawyer whether you need to file now in your state or can wait.
• Keep getting medical follow-up; a new diagnosis may allow an inactive case to move forward.