Asbestos Settlements

Los Angeles, CA: A jury in California awarded $200 million in punitive damages and $8.8 million in compensatory damages in an asbestos product liability lawsuit being heard last week. However, there is a possibility the amounts will be reduced.

Dallas, TX: A jury has awarded roughly $11 million to a Dallas family in settlement of their asbestos lawsuit. The suit was brought on behalf of mesothelioma patient and career painter Vernon Walker and wife Patsy Walker, after Mr. Walker was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma allegedly resulting from his exposure to asbestos during his working life.

Cameron County, TX: Oscar Torres, a former pipe fitter who worked for Brown and Root to repair pipes in a chemical plant owned by Union Carbide Corp, has recovered $2.7 million in his asbestos lawsuit.

Buffalo, NY: A settlement of more than $3 million dollars has been awarded to a local union boilermaker for injuries resulting from exposure to asbestos on the job.

San Francisco, CA: An appellate court has upheld a $20 million dollar asbestos cancer verdict this week, in an asbestos cancer lawsuit brought on behalf of mesothelioma patient Joan Mahoney and husband Daniel Mahoney.

Marshalltown, Iowa & St. Louis: A $1.5 million settlement has been awarded to the estate of instrument repairman Ronald Drabczyk this week, resolving a lawsuit filed prompted by the death of Mr. Drabczyk at Hooker Chemical in Buffalo, New York. He was exposed to asbestos on the job.

A jury has awarded the widow of Danny Puckett, an industrial engineer and oil field consultant, $1.2 million for asbestos exposure from 1975 to 1980 that lead to his malignant asbestos mesothelioma, a terminal illness that often claims its victims within 12 to 18 months of diagnosis.

On December 1, a tentative $140 million settlement was reached that would settle the class action lawsuit against WR Grace & Co, over Zonolite Attic Insulation. The terms of the settlement would require that WR Grace pay out $140 million over the next 25 years.

Asarco, a century old mining company that filed for bankruptcy in a Texas court in July, has announced that it plans to pay off its major creditors and settle approximately $9 billion in environmental and asbestos-related claims.

Marvin Penn, 71, diagnosed with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, and his wife Josephine Penn were recently awarded a $16.5 million settlement in their lawsuit against Kerr Corp, the sole defendent in the trial.

Erie, PA: (May-19-08) The city of Erie and the Erie Sewer Authority brought charges against Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), seeking the removal of asbestos-lined underground steam lines in downtown Erie as part of the 2005 lawsuit. In the suit, the city and the Sewer Authority said the lines posed a danger to city workers and residents, and they demanded $254,500 to cover costs, including the disposal of the line and the redesign of the sewer route.

Libby, MT: (Mar-12-08) The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brought charges against W.R. Grace, that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 because of asbestos poisoning claims. The global chemical company allegedly owed money for the federal cleanup of a Superfund site. The DOJ stated that the agency along with the EPA has been removing asbestos-contaminated soils and other materials in and near Libby, MT since May 2000.

Kansas City, MO: (Dec-17-07) The state of Missouri and Kansas City brought charges against Community Development Corporation of Kansas City (CDC-KC), a developer of a large retail and residential project in Kansas City, alleging that it violated several Missouri asbestos laws. The suit was over the construction of Citadel Plaza, to be built at 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue. The lawsuit stated that CDC-KC is the nonprofit developer of the financially troubled Citadel Plaza, an $85 million redevelopment project that includes a 35-acre shopping center promising a full-service grocery, restaurants and other retailers. It has been in the planning stage since the 1990s. CDC-KC has announced several times that construction was about to begin, including last fall, but it never has. The firm was accused in 2006 of tearing down more than 100 homes and burying tons of asbestos-containing materials at the construction site. Tons of asbestos debris also were left lying around the neighborhood where children often played.

San Francisco, CA: (Nov-05-07) Martin Lujan, an 81-year-old man who worked in the San Francisco area, brought a lawsuit against Bondex, Kaiser-Gypsum, Hamilton Materials, and Kelly Moore, all asbestos joint compound companies, alleging that he was exposed to an unreasonable risk of cancer at his workplace. The suit claimed that Lujan had been exposed to asbestos from these companies' joint compounds, and stated that the US government had declared that working for only four days around joint compounds would result in an unreasonable risk of cancer to workers. Legal counsel stated that it has been known for decades that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, and that its effects, including the onset of diseases like mesothelioma and other asbestos cancers, can take decades to surface.

Washington, DC: (Oct-29-07) Over 7,500 personal injury claims were filed against Toledo, Ohio-based Dana Corp., alleging that the auto parts supplier produced asbestos laden gaskets, putting their employees at heightened health risks. Dana, who sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2006, makes axles, drive shafts and other parts. The company is trying to leave bankruptcy protection under a reorganization plan that calls for unsecured creditors to recover between 72% and 86% on their claims. With regards to the personal injury claims, the company is said to have 150,000 as of June 30, 2007. The company, in its defense, stated that many of the claimants haven't become sick. According to court papers, about 7% of the asbestos claims filed against Dana allege mesothelioma or cancer.

New Canaan, CT: (Sep-20-07) The town of New Canaan brought a lawsuit against Brooks Laboratories, alleging that it was responsible for the asbestos discovered while renovating the New Canaan High School. Brooks Laboratories was among the four defendants that the town named in the suit. The charges stated that Brooks Laboratories prepared the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) report for the school building committee.

San Francisco, CA: (Jul-24-07) John Dachauer, 69, and his wife Rita filed a lawsuit against several manufacturers and distributors of asbestos-containing products, including San Ramon-based Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc. and Pleasanton-based Hanson Permanente Cement Inc. The suit claimed that Dachauer was diagnosed in 2006 with mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. Dachauer worked as a plasterer from 1955 until 1997 in the San Francisco Bay area. Testimony in the case showed that he regularly used exterior stucco and joint compound products manufactured and sold by Kaiser Gypsum and Hanson Permanente. In a settlement reached, Kaiser Gypsum and Hanson Permanente, previously known as Kaiser Cement agreed to resolve the lawsuit before Judge Mary Wiss of the Superior Court of California in San Francisco. Together, the plaintiffs received $2.1 million from the manufacturers and distributors of asbestos containing products.

New York, NY: (Jul-06-07) Travelers Companies Inc., one of the largest US property and casualty insurers, reached a settlement in which it agreed to contribute $449 million to a bankruptcy trust to end several years of asbestos-related litigation. The suit stemmed from a dispute with ACandS Inc., a former insulation installing unit of Armstrong World Industries Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection several years ago under the weight of about 270,000 asbestos-related injury claims. ACandS had looked to insurers such as Travelers to help cover many of those claims.

Bloomington, IL: (Jun-22-07) Nancy Malcolm filed suit against several defendants, including Pneumo Abex Corp., a manufacturer of asbestos, alleging her husband, Daniel Malcolm, died as a result of asbestos exposure. Malcolm was a Bloomington High School teacher from 1968 to July 1994 and worked at a foundry at Caterpillar's East Peoria plant from June to August 1964. The complaint filed in May 2006 states that Malcolm was exposed to asbestos at the school and foundry assignments. That same year, Malcolm was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a disorder commonly linked to exposure to asbestos. In a settlement reached after Malcolm's death in March 2007, his wife received about $3.8 million, ending claims against several defendants, including Pneumo Abex Corp.

Southfield, MI: (Jun-20-07) Federal-Mogul Corp. filed a lawsuit against two of its insurers, Everest Reinsurance Co. and Mt. McKinley Insurance Co., over coverage for asbestos damages. The nearly six-year long legal battle ended after several months of negotiations with the insurers, Cooper Industries LLC, the asbestos claimants committee, and the legal representative for future asbestos claimants.