Calif's Third Virtual Asbestos Trial Gets Rolling

Calif's Third Virtual Asbestos Trial Gets Rolling

Introduction

On Monday, California's third virtual Asbestos trial kicked off with an argument by a former Navy sailor's counsel that the plaintiff was exposed to cancer-causing asbestos, installed on a Navy aircraft carrier, which was supplied by Metalclad.

According to the court documents, the lawsuit was filed by a former Navy sailor and his wife in September 2019. The sailorman joined the Navy at the age of 21 and worked for several months on the overhauled Navy aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The suit claims that during his years of service, he worked with boxes containing asbestos-laden insulation and was breathing in the fibers without knowing about the cancer risks.

David L. Rancilio of Maune Raichle Hartley French & Mudd LLC, representing the couple, in his opening arguments asserted that mesothelioma takes years to detect, and the sailorman was diagnosed with it last year. Rancilio further claimed that the insulation, supplied by the now-defunct Metalclad Insulation LLC between 1965 and 1967, did not include warnings requested by the Navy on its boxes, even though the supplier was aware of the health risks associated with it.

Metalclad Insulation LLC is the only remaining defendant in the case. Frank K. Berfield of Dentons, representing the defendant, argued that the supplier isn't responsible for placing warnings on manufacturers' products. He further added that the Navy should have warned its servicemen as it was aware of asbestos dangers in the 1960s, and the asbestos was not only present in the insulation but also in other materials, including gaskets cut from asbestos sheet packing.

Similarly, California's first virtual trial over a $70 million asbestos case ended in a defense verdict for Honeywell at the conclusion. The second involving retired Navy Rear Admiral and Metalclad is being judged by a 12-member jury that opened its deliberations last week. The current virtual trial is presided by Alameda Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Brand.

In the U.S., the earliest known asbestos-related lawsuit was filed by a woman in 1929 in the Newark (NJ) Federal Court. Along with her, at least 15 other individuals with asbestos-related claims were trying to get compensation. Unfortunately, the woman's lawsuit was thrown out in 1934, but it brought forth the wave of many such lawsuits. One of the biggest companies targeted by these lawsuits was Johns-Manville Corporation, which filed for bankruptcy in 1982. Asbestos MDL No. 875 was created in 1991 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and is one of the largest and longest-lasting MDL.