Asbestos Mesothelioma Archive
Asbestos News Roundup: 11.24.11
November 25th, 2011. By LucyC
A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.
Asbestos Lawsuits
Charleston, WV: A man from Columbus, Ohio, is suing 51 companies in an asbestos lawsuit. Ray Berdell Karns alleges that the defendants exposed him to asbestos and caused his lung cancer diagnosis.
Mr. Karns was diagnosed with lung cancer on November 6, 2009, according to his lawsuit. While employed as a laborer, mechanic, truck driver, drywall worker and machinery operator from the 1950s until 1974, Karns claims he was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos containing fibers.
The defendants are being sued based upon theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the lawsuit.
The 51 defendants named in the suit are: 3M Company; A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; Borg-Warner Corporation; Certainteed Corporation; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Company; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company, Inc.; Genuine Parts Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell, LLC; Hercules, Inc.; Honeywell International; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation d/b/a Bell & Gossett Pumps and d/b/a Kennedy Valves; ITT Corporation d/b/a Hammel Dahl Valves; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Maremont Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corp.; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power Inc.; Rockwell Automations, Inc.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Uniroyal, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Weil-McLain Company; and Zurn Industries, Inc.
Asbestos Settlements
St. Joseph, MO: An asbestos lawsuit reached settlement recently, between an engineering firm accused of mishandling asbestos in the Jackson County Courthouse and Nancy Lopez, who worked for 27 years in the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City, and subsequently died from asbestos related illness stemming from asbestos exposure.
According to a report in NewsPressNow “U.S. Engineering didn’t follow the proper rules and procedures. And there are still significant amounts of asbestos in the courthouse.”
Nancy Lopez’s mother, Ruth Lopez, testified at trial, that her daughter died in October 2010 from asbestos mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. After discussion with her sons, Mrs. Lopez agreed to a $10 million settlement from U.S. Engineering Co. “This is the largest asbestos settlement in Missouri but no amount of money will replace the life lost,” the Lopez’s attorney said.
Under terms of the settlement, the law firm will receive just over $4 million and Mrs. Lopez will receive $5.9 million.
For a large number of employees at the Courthouse, a class action lawsuit seeking expenses for medical monitoring and evaluation remains underway. (newspressnow.com)
Asbestos News Roundup: 11.18.11
November 18th, 2011. By LucyC
A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.
Asbestos Lawsuits
St. Clair County, IL: An asbestos lawsuit naming 66 defendant companies was recently filed by Robert and Darla Mazenko. The couple claim in their lawsuit that the defendant companies caused Robert Mazenko developed lung cancer as a result of his exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout his career, and that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for the plaintiffs’ safety.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Mazenko worked as a boiler tender in the U.S. Navy from 1957 until 1961, as a bundler, forklift and crane operator at U.S. Steel from 1961 until 1972 and worked as an equipment operator from 1971 until 2002.
The Mazenkos claim that as a result of his asbestos-related disease, Robert Mazenko has become disabled and disfigured, and has incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the complaint says. In addition, he became prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued.
In their 10-count complaint, the Mazenkos are seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, punitive and exemplary damages of more than $150,000, economic damages of more than $150,000, compensatory damages of more than $100,000, punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish the defendants and other relief the court deems just. (madisonrecord.com)
Beaumont, TX: Chevron USA and Texaco have been named as defendants in an asbestos lawsuit, by the family of the late Samuel Ozen Sr.
Mildren Ozen, the widow of Samuel Ozen, together with their children filed the lawsuit alleging that Samuel was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers while employed by Texaco in Port Arthur, The suit does not give dates of employment. “As a result of such exposure, Ozen developed … pulmonary asbestosis, for which he died a painful and terrible death on March 1, 2010,” the Ozen’s lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges the defendants knew for decades that asbestos exposure caused cancer but still allowed employees to work with asbestos products. (SETexsrecord.com)
Charleston, WV: Mr. and Mrs. Hall have filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 28 companies as defendants, alleging they are responsible for Denver Hall’s lung cancer diagnosis.
On November 10, 2009, Mr. Hall was diagnosed with lung cancer, according to the lawsuit. The Halls allege that during Mr. Hall’s employment with Pennzoil and Pennzenergy, from 1974 until 1999, Mr. Hall was exposed to asbestos fibers. And, the suit goes on, the defendants failed to warn or advise Mr. Hall of the dangers associated with asbestos and asbestos-related products, and omitted to place any warnings or sufficient warnings on their containers of asbestos and asbestos materials to warn the handlers of its dangers.
The lawsuit also claims the defendants failed or omitted to provide Mr. Hall with the knowledge as to what would be reasonably safe and sufficient clothing and proper protective equipment.
Mr. Hall and his wife, Suzanna Hall, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. (WVRecord.com)
Week Adjourned: 11.11.11
November 11th, 2011. By LucyC
Top Class Actions
We’re Mad about Madoff! Still. Again. No kidding. Only this time someone’s naming a bank. Two former Bernard L. Madoff investors have filed a proposed consumer fraud class-action lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase & Co, claiming the banking giant was complicit in aiding Madoff in orchestrating the Ponzi scheme that robbed investors of more than $65 billion.
The lawsuit comes after a similar suit filed by the trustee appointed to represent Madoff’s victims was dismissed. The court ruled that the case filed by Irving Picard lacked standing, holding those claims belonged exclusively by the victims of Madoff’s fraud.
Among the allegations leveled in the lawsuit, investors charge that JP Morgan operated as Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC’s (BLMIS) primary banker for more than 20 years, and were faced with many indications that the fund was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.
The lawsuit details that since 1986, all the money BLMIS collected from unwitting investors passed through JP Morgan in an account known as the 703 Account, where BLMIS co-mingled funds from investors.
The lawsuit contends that JP Morgan should have known that BLMIS’s activities were grossly inconsistent with those of an investment firm through a number of signs of impropriety.
JP Morgan, for example, was required to review a filing submitted by BLMIS to the SEC known as the Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single Reports or FOCUS. That report, the lawsuit states, contained glaring irregularities that JP Morgan should have reported to the SEC, including factual omissions and errors, such as failing to report any commission revenue.
Beginning in 2006 JP Morgan sold structured investment products related to BLMIS feeder funds to its clients, profiting on those transactions as well. In the course of structuring those products, JP Morgan performed due-diligence on BLMIS and became suspicious that the BLMIS was a fraud but did not report its findings, the lawsuit alleges, but did redeem $145 million from BLMIS and $276 million from BLMIS feeder funds in 2008.
The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Stephen and Leyla Hill, investors who incurred losses in BLMIS. It claims JP Morgan had knowing participation in a breach of trust, aided and abetted fraud, aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty, aided and abetted conversion and received unjust enrichment. The suit seeks damages for the plaintiffs.
Top Settlements
Big Banks paying Big Bucks: But are the bucks big enough? A $410 million settlement was approved this week—you may have seen it splashed all over the news—by a federal judge in Miami, ending an overdraft fees class action lawsuit against Bank of America (BoFA) that claimed the bank charged excessive overdraft fees.
Only thing is there are reportedly more than 13 million current and former customers who will be affected by the decision, customers who used debit cards over the past 10 years. Some reports suggest that most of the plaintiffs will likely only receive a fraction of the overdraft fees they paid. Ummm.
The lawsuit alleged that BoFA processed its debit card and check payments in such a way as to incur more customer overdrafts and consequently more fees. BoFA insists that its system was proper, despite the settlement. The settlement includes an estimated $123 million in legal fees for plaintiff’s lawyers…
Another bittersweet asbestos settlement this week. The widow of a man who died from peritoneal mesothelioma cancer has been awarded a settlement—a “substantial” sum—amount not publicly disclosed as compensation for loss of her husband, to put it bluntly. The settlement, negotiated on behalf of Mrs. Veraldo, was obtained midway through trial.
Mrs. Veraldo sued as executrix of the estate of her late husband, Randy Veraldo. He was 52 when he died in 2009, seven months after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer, court records show.
Mr. Veraldo was a parts handler at a Teterboro, N.J., warehouse from 1978-85. The job required him to unpack clutch plates delivered on a near-daily basis from various suppliers. The clutch plates were said to contain asbestos, a mineral once widely used in the U.S. as a cheap insulating material until it was found to cause mesothelioma cancer.
Ok—That’s enough for this week. See you at the bar. And on this Veterans Day, a toast to all veterans, living and gone, the world over.
Asbestos News Roundup: 11.10.11
November 10th, 2011. By LucyC
A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.
Asbestos Lawsuit
Charleston, WV: The widow of Mr. Henry H. Bowling has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 105 companies as defendants. In her lawsuit, Mrs. Patricia B. Bowling claims the companies are responsible for her late husband’s esophageal cancer and resulting death.
Henry Bowling was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on May 7, 2010, and subsequently died on October 21, 2010, according Mrs. Bowling.
Mrs. Bowling’s asbestos lawsuit alleges that the 105 defendants exposed her husband to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his career as a laborer and crane operator at Armco Steel from 1968 until 1996.
The defendants are being sued based upon theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit.
The 105 defendants named in the asbestos lawsuit are: 3M Company; 4520 Corporation, Inc.; A.K. Steel Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Aker Kvaerner, Inc.; Amdura Corporation; Aurora Pump Company; Borg-Warner Corporation; Brand Insulations, Inc.; BWIP, Inc.; Bucyrus International, Inc.; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver Brooks Company, Inc.; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Company; Crown, Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; Dezurik, Inc.; Dow Chemical Company; Dravo Corporation; Durabla Manufacturing Company; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Fairmont Supply Company; F.B. Wright Company; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Flowserve FSD Corporation f/k/a Durametallic Corp.; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Durco International, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Gardner Denver, Inc.; General Electric Company, Inc.; General Refractories Company; Geoge V. Hamilton, Inc.; Georgia Pacific; the Gorman-Rupp Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell Corporation; Honeywell International f/k/a Allied Signal, Inc.; Honeywell International, Inc.; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Inductotherm Industries, Inc.; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation; J.H. France Refractories; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Manitowoc Cranes, Inc.; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Mueller Steam Specialty; NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps; Navistar, Inc.; National Service Industries, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oakfabco, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company and its division Ferro Engineering; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Peerless Pumps; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premier Refractories, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Reading Crane and Engineering Company; Rhone-Poulenc AG Company; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Ross Brothers Construction Co.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA); Stockham Valves & Fittings; Sundyne Corporation; Superior Boiler Works, Inc.; Taco, Inc.; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; the F.D. Lawrence Electric Company; Thiem Corp.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal Holdings, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; Weil-McLain Company; West Virginia State Electric Supply; Westinghouse Air Brake Division of Trane U.S., Inc.; Westinghouse Air Brake and/or Wabco; WT/HRC Corporation; Washington Group International; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc. (wvrecord.com)
Asbestos Settlement
New York, NY: A sizable settlement has been paid to the widow of a Montvale, N.J., man who died from peritoneal mesothelioma cancer. The settlement—reached midway through trial—was negotiated on behalf of the widow, Robin Veraldo.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed, but the New York-based law firm described it as “substantial.”
Veraldo sued as executrix of the estate of her late husband, Randy Veraldo. He was 52 when he died in 2009, seven months after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer, court records show.
According to those documents, Randy Veraldo was a parts handler at a Teterboro, N.J., warehouse from 1978-85. The job required him to unpack clutch plates delivered on a near-daily basis from various suppliers. The clutch plates were said to contain asbestos, a mineral once widely used in the U.S. as a cheap insulating material until it was found to cause mesothelioma cancer. (prweb.com)
Asbestos Hot Spot
Freeport, NC: The Rawleigh complex buildings, located at Spring Street and Liberty Avenue in the city of Freeport, are scheduled to undergo asbestos remediation beginning November 11. It’s anticipated that the work will continue through to February 2012.
The remediation will deal with the asbestos contamination of Rawleigh Buildings B, D and E sites. Because all the asbestos removal will take place in enclosed buildings, traffic and pedestrians are not expected to be impacted. The project is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Cleanup Grants. (The Journal-Standard.com)
Asbestos News Roundup: 11.3.11
November 3rd, 2011. By LucyC
A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.
Asbestos Lawsuit
Another asbestos lawsuit has been added to the growing list of cases in St. Clair County’s asbestos docket…
St. Clair County, IL: Kay Richter of Wisconsin has filed an asbestos lawsuit alleging the her recently deceased husband, Robert E. Richter Sr., lung cancer and recent death were caused by his exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout his career.
From 1964 until 1969 Robert E. Richter Sr. worked as a mechanic at Jones Auto Garage, from 1969 until 1978 he worked as a mechanic at Wunnicke Transfer Auto Garage, and from 1980 to 2000 he worked as a mechanic at Boscobel Track and Roller Auto Garage according to the lawsuit.
Mrs. Richter claims in her lawsuit that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for her husband’s safety. Consequently, and because of his disease, Robert E. Richter Sr. became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish. Moreover, he became prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued, Mrs. Richter claims.
Ultimately, Robert E. Richter Sr., died from lung cancer on February 27, 2010, leaving his family without his support and society. Furthermore, Robert E. Richter Sr.’s next-of-kin incurred funeral and burial costs, according to the lawsuit.
In her five-count complaint, Kay Richter is seeking compensatory damages of more than $100,000, economic damages of more than $50,000 and punitive and exemplary damages of more than $50,000, plus other relief the court deems just. (Madisonrecord.com)
Asbestos Settlement
Juneau, Alaska: A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against the state of Alaska that requires the state to pay for the replacement or repair of five schools, all in remote villages. The schools were old and require asbestos removal and upgrading in order to make them safe for use. The settlement marks the end of a 14-year old lawsuit against the state, and is expected to have far reaching effects.
According to a report in NewsMiner.com the terms of the settlement, which remain to be approved by a judge, require the “governor to seek legislative approval for funding five high-priority school construction projects in rural Alaska over the next four years. Estimates have put the cost of the projects, which include school renovations and replacements, at nearly $146 million.” The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, which includes parents, reserves the right to reopen the case if funding isn’t provided as described in the agreement. (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.com)
Asbestos Hot Spots
Chicago, IL: Asbestos has been found in several classrooms at the Sunny Hill Grade School in Carpentersville, and students at an elementary school in Barrington Unit District 220 are being temporarily relocated.
Officials say the asbestos was “most likely” not airborne and students were not exposed to it. The asbestos was discovered by work crews who were removing white boards in the classrooms. The workers spotted the glue-based asbestos late last week. (Chicagotribune.com)
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