Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco Plaintiff Lisa Castillo filed an action in the San Francisco, California Superior Court alleging that her husband, Abraham Castillo, died of mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos during his service in the United States Navy in the 1980s and later employment as a refrigeration mechanic from 1983 to 2013. The case proceeded to trial against John Crane, Inc. on theories of negligence and design defect. The plaintiff alleged that John Crane supplied asbestos-containing packing to the U.S. Navy. The jury was ultimately unable to r ..read more

Jurisdiction:  United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Decedent John McCabe died from malignant epithelioid mesothelioma in January 2023, following a career as an aircraft mechanic. His estate initiated this action, alleging strict products liability and negligence against dozens of defendants, including Curtiss-Wright. Curtis-Wright moved for summary judgment, arguing that plaintiff failed to submit any evidence to support the claim the decedent was exposed to asbestos from working on or around its products. Summary judgment is appropriate when “The mo ..read more

Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina Marshall E. Pike worked in the farm-equipment manufacturing and maintenance field for the duration of his 55-year career. This included performing maintenance on fertilizer spreader and sprayer pumps at multiple companies. In September 2021, Pike was diagnosed with mesothelioma and commenced this action. His estate continued the action and added a wrongful death claim following his June 2023 death. Plaintiffs alleged the decedent’s handling of asbestos gasket material on Defco pumps contrib ..read more

Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Central District of California In this action, the plaintiffs filed suit on behalf of the decedent, William Banks, in Los Angeles County Superior Court and thereafter removed the case to federal court. The plaintiffs pursued survival and wrongful death causes of action based on Banks’ alleged exposure to asbestos while serving in the United States Navy, and subsequent death from epithelial mesothelioma. Banks served as a machinist mate aboard several ships in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1984. Defendant Air & Liquid Systems Corp., successor ..read more

Plaintiff Marvin Evans was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2022. Subsequently, the plaintiff sued a number of defendants in the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish, alleging that his lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos during his employment as a boilermaker with various companies between 1969 and 1980. The case was eventually removed to the Eastern District of Louisiana. In the instant motion, one of the defendants, Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP, alleged that the plaintiff failed to state a claim against it. Specifically, Georgia-Pacific asserted that the only fac ..read more

Supreme Court of New York, New York County (NYCAL) In this asbestos action, plaintiff Thomas Bassier alleged that he suffered injury as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products manufactured by various companies during his time employed as an electrician. In response, one of the defendants, Burnham, LLC, filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the plaintiff failed to establish exposure to any alleged asbestos-containing products manufactured by Burnham. To succeed on summary judgment, a moving defendant must “affirmatively prove, as a matter of law, that there was no causat ..read more

Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County (NYCAL) Plaintiff John B. Daly, Jr. worked as a mechanic for Consolidated Edison Company from 1976 to 2012. He alleged exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets affiliated with regulators manufactured by Fisher Controls International LLC during this period. Fisher filed a motion for partial summary judgment, denying liability as they did not manufacture, sell, supply or otherwise recommend the use of asbestos-containing gaskets. In support of their motion, Fisher cited the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in In re New York City As ..read more

Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York City — and New York City Asbestos Litigation or NYCAL — continues to hold its position as a judicial hellhole in 2024. However, New York City was once ranked second; it is now ranked third, so perhaps this can be considered an improvement. The 2023-2024 Judicial Hellholes report is intended to shine a spotlight on nine jurisdictions that have earned reputations as Judicial Hellholes for various reasons. As of July 2023, asbestos litigation filings increased more than 30 percent year over year. New York City courts continue to serve as the third most popula ..read more

Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County (NYCAL) This asbestos matter involves a motion filed by plaintiff to consolidate two asbestos actions. In New York, “when actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before a court, the court, upon motion . . .  may order the actions consolidated.” CPLR §602(a) A joint trial should be denied, however, where individual issues predominate over common issues and where the party opposing the joint trial demonstrates substantial prejudice. Joinder in New York City Asbestos matters, specifically, is governed by Ma ..read more

Court: Supreme Court of South Carolina In this mesothelioma matter, the Supreme Court of South Carolina granted a writ of certiorari to review decisions of the South Carolina Court of Appeals affirming (1) the trial court’s denial of Scapa Waycross Inc.’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict based on the insufficiency of the evidence as to causation, (2) the trial court’s order granting a new trial nisi additur, and (3) the trial court’s denial of Scapa’s motion to reallocate pretrial settlement proceeds. The court determined that certiorari was improperly granted with respect to th ..read more