Couple Wins Over $2.5M In Calif.'s Virtual Asbestos Trial

Couple Wins Over $2.5M In Calif.'s Virtual Asbestos Trial

Introduction

Last week, the California Superior Court for Alameda County jury awarded a retired Navy admiral and his wife over $2.5 million in the conclusion of a virtual asbestos trial against Metalclad Insulation LLC.

The September 28th verdict was the result of hearing arguments for two-and-a-half months and more than a week of deliberations. A 12-member jury held the lone remaining defendant Metalclad just seven percent liable for negligently failing to recall or warn about the risks associated with the asbestos-laden insulation, which the company supplied to Navy yards for years.

The lawsuit was filed by 82-year-old retired Rear Adm. Ronald Wilgenbusch, and his wife, Judith, claiming that the asbestos exposure during the installation and removal of Metalclad-supplied insulation on several Navy ships in the U.S. Navy caused his mesothelioma. Wilgenbusch will roughly receive $1.8 million, and his wife will receive $750,000 in economic and non-economic damages.

The jury cleared Metalclad of the punitive damages claim and held the Navy 51% liable. Wilgenbusch also bored 4% of the liability, and the other ten companies were held accountable for the rest.

The case, originally headed for an in-person trial in July, was moved for an online trial via Zoom by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman, after finding that one juror came down with a fever.

It is the second of the three that went for trial via Zoom in Alameda County. The first one ended in a defense verdict for Honeywell over a $70 million asbestos suit. The third one kicked off a couple of weeks ago 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.