Asbestos News Roundup: 1.27.12

January 27th, 2012. 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: Betty Ruth Rhodes, who has been diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer, has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 65 corporations as defendants. Rhodes 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 the plaintiff’s safety.

In her lawsuit, Rhodes alleges the defendant companies caused her to develop lung cancer after her exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout her career. According to the complaint, Rhodes worked as a laborer from 1958 until 1990 at Borg Warner in Illinois, at Speedway Manufacturing in Illinois and at Rhodes Camper Sale.

Rhodes further claims she was secondarily exposed to asbestos fibers through her father and husband, who would bring them home on his clothes after work. Rhodes’s father worked as a laborer at International Harvester in Illinois while her husband worked as a millwright from 1956 until 1970 at Reynolds Metal Company, as a millwright at ITT from 1970 until 1972 and as a millwright at Alcoa from 1972 until 1992, according to the lawsuit.

As a result of her asbestos-related disease, Rhodes became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the complaint says. Furthermore, she became prevented from pursuing her normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued to her, she alleges.

In her nine-count complaint, Rhodes is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000, compensatory damages of more than $100,000, economic damages of more than $150,000 and punitive and exemplary damages of more than $150,000, plus other relief the court deems just. (Madisonrecord.com)

Jefferson County, TX: An asbestos lawsuit has been filed by the family of the late Robert Marze against Chevron and Texaco, alleging the companies exposed him to the carcinogen throughout his career, and that exposure resulted in his untimely death.

In their lawsuit, Doris Marze and her children claim Robert Marze was employed by Texaco in Port Arthur, where he was allegedly exposed to asbestos.

As the result of his alleged exposure, Robert Marze developed pulmonary asbestosis, which caused his death on August 20.

The suit alleges the defendants knew for decades that asbestos caused cancer but still exposed employees to the substance without warning them. (SETexasrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: 190 companies have been named as defendants in eight separate asbestos lawsuits filed by 15 defendants.

George E. Bickerstaff and Carolyn Bickerstaff; Melva J. Devore, executrix of the Estate of Melvin E. Carpenter; Barbara Ford, executrix of the Estate of James Fife; David T. Gorrell Jr. and Mary J. Gorrell; Paul R. Groves and Mary Ellen Groves; Eulonda Haley; David K. Harris and Linda Harris; George W. Kokos and Maryann Kokos; and Michael Tennant and Cheryl Tennant are suing the 190 defendants for lung injuries caused by exposure to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing materials, according to the complaints.

The plaintiffs claim the defendants are responsible for asbestosis and lung cancer sustained by Bickerstaff, Carpenter, Fife, David Gorrell, Paul Groves, Haley and David Harris, and asbestosis sustained by George Kokos and Michael Tennant.

The suit alleges the defendants failed to warn the plaintiffs of the dangers of the asbestos products when they knew or should have known that exposure to asbestos-containing products would cause disease and injury.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants also failed to exercise reasonable care to warn them and inform the plaintiffs of safe and sufficient apparel for a person exposed to asbestos to wear or use.

The 190 defendants named in the suit are: 20th Century Glove Corporation of Texas; 4520 Corp., Inc.; Air & Liquid Systems Corporation; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Alliance Machine Company; Allied Glove Corporation; Ametek, Inc.; Anderson Greenwood & Co.; Andritz, Inc.; Armstrong International, Inc.; Armstrong Pumps, Inc.; Ashland, Inc.; Atlas Industries, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Bayer Corporation; Bayer Cropscience, Lp; Beazer East, Inc.; Bechtel Corporation; Borg-Warner Corporation; Bp Amoco Chemical Company; Bp Products North America, Inc.; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Burnham Holdings, Inc.; Cabot Corporation; Cameron International Corporation; Canadianoxy Offshore Production Company; Cashco, Inc.; Catalytic Construction Company; CBS Corporation; Century Aluminum Company; Certainteed Corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc.; the Cincinnati Gasket, Packing & Mfc, Inc.; Cleaver-Brooks, Inc.; Columbian Chemicals Company; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Cooper Industries, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Coppus Turbines; Corbesco, Inc.; Crane Company, Inc.; Dana Corporation; Degussa Corporation; Dezurik, Inc.; Dow Chemical Company; Dravo Corporation; E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Company; Eaton Corporation; Eichleay Corporation; F.B. Wright Company; the Fairbanks Company; Fairmont Supply Company; Flowserve U.S., Inc., and its Byron Jackson Pump Division; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve Fsd Corporation, F/K/A/ Durametallic Corp.; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve FSD Corporation, as successor to Edward Valves, Inc.; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve FSD Corporation, as successor to Valtek International; Flsmidth Inc.; Flsmidth Dorr-Oliver Eimco, Inc.; Flsmidth Salt Lake City, Inc.; Fluor Constructors International; FMC Corporation; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler, LLC; Fuller Company; the Gage Company; Gardner Denver, Inc.; General Electric Company; General Refractories Company; General Technologies, Inc.; Gentex Corporation; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Graybar Electric Company, Inc.; Greene Tweed & Co.; Grinnell LLC; Gulf Oil Corporation; H.E. Neumann Company; Hercules Chemical Company, Inc.; Hinchliffe & Keener, Inc.; Hoechst Celanese Chemical Group, Inc.; Honeywell International, Inc.; Howden North America, Inc.; Hunter Sales Corporation; Huntsman International LLC; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Industrial Rubber Products; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; International Systems and Controls Corporation; ITT Corporation; J.H. France Refractories Company; Jabo Supply Corporation; Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.; Jno J. Disch Company; John Crane, Inc.; Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc.; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Katy Industries, Inc.; Kelly Moore Paint Company; Kentile Floors, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; M.S. Jacobs & Associates, Inc.; Magnetek, Inc.; Mallinckrodt LLC; Manitowoc Company, Inc.; McCarls, Inc.; McJunkin Redman Corporation; Meadwestvaco Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mine Safety Appliance, Inc.; Minnotte Contracting Corporation; Mobil Corporation; Monongahela Power Company; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Mueller Steam Specialty; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; National Services Industries, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Occidental Chemical Corporation; Oglebay Norton Company; Osram Sylvania, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Parker-Hannifin Corp.; Parker-Hannifin Corporation; Peerless Industries, Inc.; Pennzoil-Quaker State Company; Pharmacia Corporation; Plotkin Brothers Supply, LLP; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Potomac Edison Company; Power Piping Company; PPG Industries, Inc.; Premier Refractories, Inc.; Reading Crane; Research-Cottrell, Inc.; Rhone-Poulenc Ag Company, Inc.; Riley Power, Inc.; Robinson Fans, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Roper Pump Company; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Safety First Industries, Inc.; the Sager Corporation; Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Seco/Warwick Corporation; Shell Oil Company; Simakas Company, Inc.; S.P. Kinney Engineers, Inc.; Spirax Sarco, Inc.; SPX Cooling Technologies, Inc.; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sullair Corporation; Sunbeam Products, Inc.; Sundyne Corporation; SVI Corporation; Taco, Inc.; Tasco Insulation, Inc.; Team Industrial Services, Inc.; Townsend & Bottom, Inc.; Trane U.S., Inc.; Trans-Pumps, Inc.; Trans-Pumps, Inc. of Pittsburgh; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Unifrax Corporation; Union Carbide Corporation; United Conveyor Corporation; United States Steel Corporation; Universal Refractories Corporation; Viacom Inc.; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; Washington Group International; Waste Management, Inc.; Watson McDaniel Company; Weil-McLain Company; West Penn Power Company; Whiting Corporation; the William Powell Company; WTI Rust Holdings, Inc.; Wyeth Holdings Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC.

Charleston, WV: The daughter of a man who died from asbestos-related illness is suing 62 companies she claims are responsible for her father’s death.

Carl Richard Butler Sr., was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on January 7, 2010, and subsequently died on April 18, 2011, according to the lawsuit. Butler worked as a machinist, laborer and pipefitter and it was during this time that Deidra G. Hill claims the defendants exposed her father to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products. She further alleges that the defendants knew or should have known of the dangers of asbestos and failed to warn Butler.

The 62 defendants named in the suit are: A.W. Chesterton Company; Allied Chemical Corporation; Armstrong International, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Brand Insulations, Inc.; BWIP, Inc.; Catalytic Construction Company; Certainteed Corporation; Chicago Pump Company; Cleaver-Brooks, Inc.; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Crane Co.; Crown Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; Dezurik, Inc.; Dravo Corporation; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Foseco, Inc.; Gordon Gasket & Packing; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Greene Tweed & Company; Grinnell, LLC; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Industrial Supply Solutions; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation; Kentucky Power Company; Lockheed Martin Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Mueller Steam Specialty; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Reading Crane; Riley Power, Inc.; Roper Pump Company; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Spirax Sarco, Inc.; State Electric Supply; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; the Alliance Machine Company; the F.D. Lawrence Electric Company; the William Powell Company; UB West Virginia, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; West Virginia Electric Supply; WT/HRC Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc.

Asbestos Settlements

Los Angeles, CA: A California construction worker who developed a highly aggressive form of cancer after exposure to asbestos has received $7.5 million in settlement of legal claims against six companies that manufactured or distributed asbestos-cement pipe.

The 57-year old man, whose identity and current city of residence are withheld at his request, sued last August after he was diagnosed less than one year earlier with mesothelioma

The man was a construction worker who, in the 1970s and 1980s, helped install underground water and sewer lines. These pipes—6 to 48 inches in diameter—were made of a concrete-asbestos composite material for strength but also for ease of fabrication. The defendants made, sold or delivered them, according to the man’s attorney.

The plaintiff’s job in part was to cut asbestos-concrete pipes so they could be properly laid and connected beneath public and private streets in and around the Sacramento Valley city of Chico.

However, according to the court filing, the task of cutting this particular type of pipe posed extreme health risks. The cuts generated an enormous amount of cement-asbestos dust, which flew in every direction from the saw’s whirring blades and engine exhaust blast. This snowstorm of asbestos dust was at times so thick you couldn’t see the person standing three feet away. By the end of each workday, the plaintiff was covered from head to toe in a thick layer of asbestos dust. (SFGate.com)

Tort Reform Video Takes it Too Far–or Right on the Money?

January 24th, 2012. By AbiK

Was clicking around on some attorney blogs, and came across this gem—a rendering of what tort reform could look like for medical malpractice. Clearly it’s a bit over the top in a number of ways–but the point is there. And sadly, it takes a dramatization like this in order to crystallize key points buried in tort reform legislation. 

If you’re wondering what the HR 5 bill is, it’s aim is to “improve patient access to health care services and provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system.” That’s the aim. And it all sounds good—until you start to read and understand what it all might mean to you or your loved one should you find yourself in need of a personal injury attorney.

Oh, and note to self: phrases on a government bill such as “sharing of information” should always pique one’s interest…

Asbestos News Roundup: 1.19.12

January 20th, 2012. 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 Settlements

Manitoba, Canada: Several Manitoba property owners received class action settlement monies this week totalling nearly $5 million. The payments are part of a legal settlement between Pinchin Environmental Ltd. and asbestos manufacturer Federal Mogul that was more than eight years long.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the plaintiffs owned buildings that contained a type of asbestos fireproofing material called Limpet. Limpet was used extensively in Canadian buildings in the latter half of the last century. The largest award – $700,000 – went to Winnipeg Airports Authority, which is in the process of demolishing an old terminal. The Canadian Wheat Board was another large award recipient, getting $198,000 as compensation. Its Main Street head offices underwent extensive renovation over the past decade, including expensive asbestos abatement, the Winnipeg Free Press writes. The WFP also states “The Canadian involvement in the U.S. settlement is unique in a few ways. Pinchin officials say the legal claims would likely have failed had they been presented in Canadian court. The Canadian participation was not instigated by the property owners, but by Pinchin’s own efforts. About 70 percent of the $32-million eventual settlement will go to Canadian building owners. And of that Canadian component, about 25 percent will be distributed to Manitoba claimants.” (Winnipegfreepress.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Former Workers at the Silico and Southwest Vermiculite Co Plants at Risk for Asbestos-related Diseases.

Albuquerque, NM: Federal contractors began removing asbestos-contaminated soil at two sites in Albuquerque this week, where fireproof insulation was manufactured for decades. Dressed in protective suits and using heavy equipment, the men are scraping up the contaminated soil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must remove some 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the former Silico Inc. plant located at 5119 Edith NE. Soil removal is also underway at a smaller site located at 1822 First NE. The site was used by the Southwest Vermiculite Co. The popular fireproof insulation was sold under the brand names Zonalite and Texas Vermiculite, and was distributed across New Mexico to insulate attics and walls.

But along with the soil removal come questions about the health of former employees at the plants, as well as the location of some 68,000 tons of asbestos-tainted vermiculite imported to New Mexico from 1967 to 1988 for use in making the insulation.

The vermiculite came from the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana, which shipped tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite by rail to plants across the country. The mine closed in 1990. The employees who worked in the plants and loaded and unloaded the vermiculite ore would have been at greatest risk for asbestos exposure, said Mike McAteer, the EPA’s on-site coordinator. “I have no doubt there would have been fiber getting kicked up during this loading operation,” McAteer said. He recommended anyone who believes he or she may have been exposed to asbestos to contact a health provider.

According to the report in the Albuquerque Journal, Bernalillo County environmental health officials plan to identify employees who worked at the plants and notify them about potential health risks, Kitty Richards, an agency program manager, said at a public meeting Tuesday. (Albuquerquejournal.com)

Attorney Mark Scurti lends a Pro Bono Hand to those facing Bankruptcy

January 17th, 2012. By BrendaC

Attorney Mark Scurti has donated countless hours of his time to help people through tight spots with creditors over the last decade. Since 2001, Scurti has handled more than 50 bankruptcy cases pro bono and has eight more on the docket for 2012. “I didn’t realize it had been that many,” says Scurti. “You do what you need to do especially in times when people really need help.”

Not only has he personally handled pro bono cases, he’s also helped hundreds of other people avoid costly legal expenses by teaching them how to represent themselves in bankruptcy court.

Scurti, who is a bankruptcy lawyer with the firm of Hodes, Pessin & Katz, was recently chosen as the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) volunteer of the year. The award is in recognition of the volunteer attorney who has done the most to further assistance to pro bono clients through the MVLS. Modest to the core Scurti says, “I was very honored and humbled by that award but I am just one of many lawyers who do pro bono work. The Maryland Bar Association and MVLS are both very passionate about seeing that people are represented and making sure that the system works.”

As many as 1,500 people a month in Maryland appear in bankruptcy or debtor court—many cannot afford a lawyer and there aren’t enough pro bono lawyers to go around. Up to 16 per cent of those people opt to represent themselves pro se—that is, advocate for themselves. “Finding volunteer lawyers to take all intake cases can be difficult,” says Scurti.

Scurti set up some “pro se” clinics where lawyers give filers a quick primer on what they need to know about going to bankruptcy court. “I harangued some fellow attorneys of mine to come in and provide 15 to 20 minute consultations,” says Scurti. “They can talk to an attorney after and get some guidance—is this something I should really do by myself—or do I need to get an attorney to do?”

And how do they do? “Well, they do pretty well,” says Scurti.”

“Obviously the forms are overwhelming to them but many times it is just a matter of unlocking some of the mysteries of what these forms are, where they go, and a lot of the folks can do it successfully,” he adds. “But there is a lot of support for them, too.”

Bankruptcy and debt problems are Scurti’s areas of expertise. For lawyers whose practices don’t typically handle those kinds of issues, but who would like to help the thousands of Americans struggling with debt problems, Scurti and the MVLS recently set up a workshop to get attorneys up to speed on bankruptcy court. “We actually got about 55 new attorneys who came in for the workshop on how to prepare a simple chapter 7 bankruptcy application,” he says. “We were able to place about 30 cases with pro bono attorneys and we got rid of a lot of cases that were back-logged in the system.”

Scurti and the MVLS even produced a video several years ago for pro se filers. It can be found on the US Bankruptcy court website.

Attorney Mark Scurti is a member of the Hodes, Pessin & Katz Corporate and Business Services Group. He primarily practices bankruptcy law. He also practices same-sex/LGBT law. He received his law degree from the University Of Baltimore School Of Law and holds a B.A. in Marketing/Business and an M.B.A. from Loyola College in Maryland.

Gambling for Justice: Class Action Lawsuit v. Small Claims Court, Place Your Bets

January 13th, 2012. By AbiK

It’s a well-chronicled sentiment: class action lawsuit lawyers get rich on attorneys’ fees and the little guy gets stiffed. Whether true or not—and there are arguments on both sides—it’s easy to see how a settlement check for $1.13 can make a plaintiff feel like ‘thanks, but no thanks’. And that brings us to the case of Heather Peters, who is suing Honda in small claims court over her claim that Honda engaged in false advertising when it stated her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid had a 50 MPG rating.

Small claims court? Isn’t that only for some kind of ‘my boyfriend split with my smart phone and $800 I had under the mattress” type of reality tv show crap?

Well, no—and that’s the point—or calculated bet—Peters is trying to make. See, according to the Honda Civic Hybrid Class Action lawsuit proposed settlement FAQ, each class member would receive $100 as settlement. Peters, who is a former attorney herself, deems that a bit of a paltry sum and so she took the route that most of us do not and she chose to opt out of the proposed settlement. And, in turn, she took her complaint to small claims court.

What’s intriguing about her choice is that, not only can she seek up to $10,000—the new 2012 limit set for small claims in California where the complaint is being heard—but, if she can persuade enough 2003-2009 Honda Civic Hybrid owners to follow suit (no pun) and head to small claims court, she estimates that Honda would be liable for nearly $2 billion—vs the current liability they face coming out of the class action lawsuit in which each class member would receive $100.

Talk about power to the people—if only the people took to the power—by February 11, 2012—the date by which class members’ opt out requests to the Settlement Administrator need to be postmarked.

At issue in the Honda Civic Hybrid Class Action lawsuit is not just that advertised miles per gallon (MPG) ratings for the car were misrepresented, but also—and here’s where a subclass of class members enters into the picture, to which Peters also belongs—that for model years 2006-2008, Honda Civic Hybrid (HCH) owners were told their cars needed a software update to the Integrated Motor Assist (“IMA”) battery system.

What HCH owners didn’t know—and American Honda Motor Co. apparently did not disclose—was that allegedly, in order to install the update, the result would be a negative impact on fuel economy. Not ideal when the primary reason you purchased the car was for its fuel economy.

You can start to see where $100 per claimant—worth what? a couple of tank fills?—isn’t sounding like much.

So Peters is placing her bets on small claims court. But as stated earlier, it’s a bit of a calculated bet for her–she’s done, and doing her homework. Just see her website. And she says that anyone can do the same.

But would you?

Prepping for small claims court, sans an attorney of course as that’s part of the charm of small claims court—no lawyers allowed—takes time. And, you do have to have the ability to put together a pretty darn good case, particularly if you’re taking on a major corporation. Given that, it comes down to whether you think it’s worth it, or not. And that’s probably why so many of us sit back and await whatever settlement check we receive.

You have to admire Peters though. She’s up for a fight, and she’s got a pretty good one from the looks of it—perhaps even a new profession in behind-the-scenes small claims coaching. And, at least she is not just sitting back and complaining about attorneys’ fees—she’s trying to take a stand, both literally and figuratively.

Peters’ next hearing date is January 25.