Heather Isringhausen Gvillo News
Senate's FACT Act "clips the wings of the plaintiffs bar"
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Despite strong opposition, supporters of the Furthering Asbestos Transparency Act believe that U.S. Senator Jeff Flake's introduction of the bill in the Senate could reignite interest in the FACT Act.
Robreno adopts recommendation on green cards used as service upon shipowner defendants
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Asbestos Multidistrict Litigation Judge Eduardo Robreno has adopted a recommendation, granting shipowner defendants' motion to dismiss based on untimely, unspecific green cards.
North Carolina could be fourth state to pass asbestos transparency laws
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - North Carolina's state Senate is currently sitting on a bill that, if passed, would make the state the fourth in the nation to enact an asbestos bankruptcy trust transparency law, joining Wisconsin, Ohio and Oklahoma.
Former Del. judge pens article, urges asbestos judges to read Garlock decision
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - In an article for the American Journal of Trial Advocacy, former Delaware Superior Court Judge Peggy L. Ableman discussed the difficulties in her experiences accounting for bankruptcy trust recoveries in asbestos lawsuits due to lack of transparency and abusive practices.
Hodges grants motion to adjourn bar date request in Garlock case
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - The proposed agenda for the next hearing in the Garlock Sealing Technologies bankruptcy case was amended on Tuesday, leaving any mention of the debtors' request for establishment of a bar date off the plan.
Garlock responds to motion to adjourn bar date, calls opposing arguments "mistaken"
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - Debtors involved in the Garlock Sealing Technologies bankruptcy case have responded to the Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimant's motion to adjourn the debtors' request for a bar date for current settled asbestos claims, saying the Committee is alone in its arguments.
Pa. appellate court affirms $1M jury verdict, cites inconsistencies in defense expert opinions
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Following appeals from both parties, a panel of judges in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania has affirmed a jury's $1 million verdict for a former auto mechanic after detailing expert inconsistencies on behalf of Ford Motor Company.
Plaintiffs fail to prove exposure to asbestos component parts in Goulds pumps
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A New Jersey appellate court has agreed a pump manufacturer had a duty to warn those who would be working with its products about the asbestos-containing component parts, but affirmed a summary judgment ruling because the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence showing specific exposure to the defendant's products.
Pa. appellate judge rules that every exposure theory insufficient in asbestos case
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A Pennsylvania appellate court affirmed that a former refinery worker failed to provide enough evidence proving his late wife's third-party mesothelioma resulted from the defendant's products.
Rep for future claimants supports deadline for asbestos claims against Garlock
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - The Future Claims Representative in the Garlock Sealing Technologies bankruptcy case filed a brief on Friday siding with Garlock and urging the court to set a bar date for current asbestos claims, which he says would allow Garlock to better estimate the number of future claims.
W.Va. Supreme Court: Lung cancer caused by smoking two packs a day, not asbestos
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - The West Virginia Supreme Court has agreed that a man's lung cancer is the result of a 36-year smoking habit rather than alleged asbestos exposure amid varying expert opinions.
Summary judgment reversed: '300 week' standard not applicable in asbestos cases
HARRISBURG Pa. (Legal Newsline) - A Pennsylvania appeals court has reversed a summary judgment order for an electricity company on the grounds that the Workers' Compensation Act's "300 week" requirement does not apply to mesothelioma cases.
Judge stays order granting access to Rule 2019 filings in Garlock case
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - Just one day after granting Ford Motor Company's request for access to Rule 2019 filings in the Garlock Sealing Technologies bankruptcy proceeding, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges stayed the order.
Flake introduces Senate version of bill seeking transparency in asbestos bankruptcy trusts
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Exactly six months after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency Act, U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has introduced The FACT Act of 2014 - the Senate's version of the bill.
Jury verdict affirmed: Evidence presented at trial supported design defect claim, Calif. court says
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court has affirmed a jury's verdict in favor of a former boiler worker's asbestos claims, finding that the claimant presented sufficient evidence showing design defect.
Fourth Circuit sides with court transparency
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) - The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals tackled one of the nation's hottest litigation topics when it ruled that a sealed case involving a government entity should be made public in an effort to maintain transparency and public access. Lewis F. Powell Jr. Courthouse & Annex in Richmond, Va.The opinion, published on April 16 in the United States Court of Appeals for
Family of deceased plumber awarded $6.5M in Iowa asbestos case
MASON CITY, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - A Write County, Iowa, jury has awarded a deceased asbestos victim's family $6.5 million, including punitive damages.
Secondary asbestos exposure case denied remand; rules court is capable of handling complex issues
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana federal court has retained jurisdiction in a woman's secondary exposure asbestos lawsuit, arguing it is "perfectly capable" of handling complex questions of state law and denying requests to remand.
Ford granted access to Garlock bankruptcy trial filings
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - After originally denying several defendants' requests for access to confidential information from the Garlock bankruptcy proceedings, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges has granted access to Rule 2019 Filings.
Summary judgment for Goodyear reversed in asbestos case
SAN FRANCISO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court has ruled that a gasket manufacturer failed to prove a former Navy mechanic was not exposed to its asbestos-containing gasket sheet material and should not be granted summary judgment, reversing a lower court's decision.