Asbestos Settlement Reached Against Hennessy Industries

June 14, 2012

Los Angeles, CA: The California 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles has ruled in favor of the wife of a asbestos mesothelioma victim who says she is entitled to damages against a manufacturer of asbestos products based on the loss of consortium with her husband.

Frederick Kenney of Fort Jones, CA, sued Tennessee-based auto parts manufacturer Hennessy Industries Inc. and other companies for negligence and products liability based on their use of asbestos products.

Mr. Kenney was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2011 after being exposed to asbestos during his service in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s and 1960s, and when he later worked as a mechanic. His wife, Sherrell Vanhooser, filed a loss of consortium claim against the same defendants. Mesothelioma is a debilitating, deadly form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.

In the lawsuit, attorneys argued that Ms. Vanhooser's loss of consortium claim should be allowed. However, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted Hennessy's motion for summary judgment based on the argument that Mr. Kenney and his wife were not married until after Mr. Kenney last was exposed to asbestos.

Earlier this month, a three-judge panel from the 2nd District Court of Appeal ordered the trial court to vacate its order granting summary judgment, after finding that "injury to the spouse in the latent disease context occurs when the illness or its symptoms are discovered or diagnosed, not at the time of the tortious act causing the harm." The case is Vanhooser v. Hennessey, No. BC-468065, in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

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