Bill on Bankruptcy: The Market's Unquenchable Thirst for Junk
In June 2025, a Suffolk County, Massachusetts jury delivered an $8 million verdict in Janice Paluzzi v. Johnson & Johnson (21-2109). The jury allocated $5 million for past pain and suffering and $3 million for future pain and...more
Court: Massachusetts Superior Court, Middlesex County - A Massachusetts jury awarded plaintiff Janice Paluzzi $8 million in damages against defendant Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (collectively, J&J)....more
Court: Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana - As previously reported HERE in the Asbestos Case Tracker, a Louisiana jury on May 7 returned a plaintiff’s verdict against talc manufacturer Johnson...more
Court: Washington Superior Court, Pierce County - A Washington state court in April awarded $16 million to the estate of decedent Steven Korzerke after a default judgment was entered against defendant Asbestos Corp. LTD, a...more
Jurisdiction: Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana - A Louisiana Jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict May 7 after an eight-week trial against Johnson & Johnson and Pecos River Talc LLC....more
Maffei v. A.O. Smith Water Prods. Co. (In re N.Y.C. Asbestos Litigation), 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 1425 (N.Y. App. Div. 2025) - Valuing asbestos cases can sometimes be complicated but on March 13th, 2025, the NY Appellate Court...more
Jurisdiction: Broward County Circuit Court - A Florida jury on April 23 handed down an $18 million verdict in aperitoneal mesothelioma case brought by the law firm of Maune Raichle Hartley French & Mudd, LLC....more
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department - The Supreme Court of New York, New York County, on March 13, 2024, dismissed defendant Long Island Lighting Company from an asbestos action,...more
Court: Florida – 17th Judicial Circuit Court - Plaintiff, Denise J. Guth Cook alleged asbestos exposure from consumer talc products and automobile parts. She specifically alleged bystander and household exposure from...more
Jurisdiction: Illinois Circuit Court – Cook County - This lawsuit involved a survival and wrongful death action brought under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) in Illinois. Plaintiff, Annette Sanders, represented...more
In this asbestos action, plaintiff Michele Salvemini alleges exposure to asbestos while working as a marine engineer and shipyard mechanical worker on various merchant and U.S. Navy ships from 1974 to 2007. During this...more
On December 21, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York vetoed, for a third time, the Grieving Families Act (“Act”), a significant bipartisan legislative proposal in New York aimed at reforming the state’s wrongful death...more
On Jan. 6, a Pittsburgh jury concluded a month-and-a-half long trial involving a suit asserting that decedent Michaeleen Lee developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos-containing talcum powder products made by Johnson &...more
The 2024-2025 Judicial Hellholes report shines its brightest spotlight on 10 jurisdictions that have earned reputations as Judicial Hellholes. Asbestos litigation continues to be a trend within numerous jurisdictions....more
The Estate of Nicholas Barone trial in Bridgeport Superior Court in Connecticut before Judge William Clark concluded with a $15 million plaintiff’s verdict on 5/16/2024. The jury also awarded punitive damages, the exact...more
Released yearly in December, the American Tort Reform (ATR) Foundation publishes its annual “Judicial Hellhole” rankings for the upcoming year. The Hellholes represent the worst of the worst jurisdictions to defend tort...more
Court: Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, Division Two - Plaintiff Steven Watts filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Alameda County, California naming 36 defendants who were alleged to have...more
Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana - Plaintiffs Claudette Washington Skidmore and Courtney Skidmore Williams brought claims against several defendants after the death of their...more
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - Plaintiff Wilson Goffner, Sr. was diagnosed with malignant lung cancer in March 2020following his employment at the Avondale shipyard in the late 1960s and 1970s. In...more
Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Central District of California- In this action, the plaintiffs filed suit on behalf of the decedent, William Banks, in Los Angeles County Superior Court and thereafter...more
The link between asbestos exposure and an increased risk of diseases such as mesothelioma cancer, asbestos lung cancer, asbestosis, or other diseases was conclusively established in the 1970s. When this information was made...more
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit In this asbestos action, David Stauder Jr. (decedent) developed mesothelioma after working as a pipefitter for two decades. His daughters, Jill and Shelley Stauder (appellees)...more
Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, March 30, 2022 In this matter, the decedent alleged exposure to asbestos during military service, throughout his career working at various industrial plants, and at his own home...more
On May 7, a California District Court Judge granted Victory Woodworks, Inc.’s (“Victory”) motion to dismiss all COVID-19 liability claims in plaintiffs Robert and Corby Kuciemba’s amended complaint. Kuciemba et al. v. Victory...more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a tort decision with far-reaching implications for all manufacturers and sellers of products throughout the state. Absent further legislation beyond the 2011 Fair Share Act, liable...more