Litigation

Huge California Asbestos Verdict

By Bruce Nye

Ah yes, there will always be Los Angeles juries.  And one of them came back last week with this verdict in a mesothelioma case against Certainteed Corporation, former manufacturer of pipe made with crocidolite, the most virulently dangerous asbestos fiber:

    Compensatory damages:  $8.8 million

    Punitive damages:             $200 million

Wow.  To paraphrase the quote often attributed to the late Everett Dirksen (who apparently never said it), "$200 million here, $200 million there, pretty soon you're talking real money."

Plaintiff Rhoda Evans' husband worked at the LA Department of Water and Power for twenty years cutting the asbestos pipe.  She laundered his clothing, and allegedly became ill from exposure to asbestos fibers and dust that came home with him. 

Mesothelioma personal injury cases usually involve plaintiffs with very short life expectancies.  Therefore, they are typically granted preference for trial, and this case was no exception.  Trial started less than seven months after the complaint was filed. 

Department of Water and Power was also at the trial, but had a sliding scale settlement agreement:    DWP would stay in the case, and if the jury found it 0 - 3% at fault, it would pay the plaintiff's $600,000, if 3.1% - 4% at fault, $800,000, and if 4.1% or more, $975,000.  As it turned out, the jury allocated 30% of the liability to DWP, but did not assess punitive damages against it (and of course, plaintiff did not seek punitives against DWP).  Because of California's complex rules for calculating set-offs from prior settlements (of which there were many), we can't tell yet whether DWP benefited from its settlement or not.

You can see a segment from plaintiff attorney Bill Levin's opening statement here, courtesy of Courtroom View Network.  California Punitive Damages also has coverage here.

Full post as published by CalBizLit on May 04, 2010 (boomark / email).