U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Decedent Terry J. LeGendre worked for defendant Huntington Ingalls, Inc. (Avondale) from October 1967 to January 1968. He was later diagnosed with and died from mesothelioma. Prior to the May 2024 trial, defendants General Electric Company, Paramount Global, Eagle Inc., Foster Wheeler LLC, Uniroyal, Inc., and Taylor-Seidenbach Inc. moved to limit or exclude the plaintiff’s experts. Likewise, the plaintiff moved to exclude the expert opinion presented by defendants Avondale and Bayer CropScience, Inc. The defendants’ motion sought to lim ..read more

Court: United States District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division In connection to defendant Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company’s ongoing litigation in Libby, Montana (covered extensively by the Asbestos Case Tracker, including most recently HERE), the estate of decedent Mary Diana Moe brought an action against BNSF for wrongful death allegedly resulting from decedent’s exposure to asbestos resulting from BNSF’s activities in Libby. BNSF previously moved for spoliation sanctions stemming from plaintiff’s failure to preserve decedent’s remains after her death. The ..read more

Court: Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department In this asbestos action, decedent Rudolf Horvath alleged that he was exposed to asbestos from Bondstrand pipes manufactured by defendant, Ameron International, at a sewage plant in midtown Manhattan. In response, Ameron filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing the sewage plant referenced by decedent must have been the North River wastewater treatment plant, which did not exist until 1985 at a time when Ameron no longer manufactured Bondstrand pipe using asbestos. The trial court ultimately denied Ameron’s motion (covere ..read more

Court: United States District Court, Middle District of Florida On Thursday April 18, a Florida jury found the talcum powder in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder product did not cause the ovarian cancer of deceased Sarasota County resident Patricia Matthey. The plaintiffs alleged in their complaint that J&J suppressed scientific evidence linking talc products to increased cancer risk and that the corporation knew for decades that the talc used in its baby powder could be contaminated with asbestos. At trial, J&J argued that there was no “conspiracy” to suppress evidence as said scien ..read more

Court: Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois On April 19, a Chicago jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $45 million to the family of a Cook County woman named Theresa Garcia who died from mesothelioma, allegedly caused by exposure to asbestos in various talc powder products. Plaintiffs claimed that Theresa Garcia inhaled asbestos fibers contained in the talc, citing to lab tests, which demonstrated talc products could contain small amounts of asbestos, which they say could then cause mesothelioma. In a statement issued following the verdict, J&J stated, “We will immediately appeal ..read more

Court:  Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District, Houston Carolyn and Frank Burford were married from November 1962 until Carolyn’s death in 2015. While married, Frank Buford worked for Alcoa at its aluminum smelter in Rockdale, Texas. As a potlining helper, Mr. Burford regularly worked with and around asbestos-containing materials.  Mrs. Burford (Carolyn, or decedent) washed his work clothing every day for a period of 25 years. In 2006, she sought medical care after developing shortness of breath. Her pulmonologist diagnosed her with asbestosis and she later die ..read more

Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania In this asbestos action, appellant American International Industries (AII) appealed from a judgment entered in December 2022 awarding damages to appellee, Holly Fisher, executrix of the Estate of Sandra Reichart (decedent), following a jury trial. Decedent owned a beauty salon from 1960 through 1985. During that time, decedent allegedly used the following talcum powders on clients: Clubman, Jeris, Jean Nate, and Cashmere Bouquet. Following decedent’s passing from mesothelioma in 2019, Fisher field a lawsuit claiming that the aforementioned talcum powders w ..read more

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