Notes

The Three Greatest Moments In Ny Asbestos Litigation History
New York Asbestos Litigation

Mesothelioma patients in New York can receive compensation from an attorney for mesothelioma. Exposure to asbestos often causes these types of illnesses; symptoms may develop for years before they manifest.

Judges who manage the cases of NYCAL have developed a pattern that favors plaintiffs. A recent decision could further undermine defendants' rights.

Upstate New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

Asbestos litigation is distinct from a typical personal injury lawsuit. These cases involve multiple defendants (companies being sued) and multiple law firms representing plaintiffs, and multiple expert witness. These cases are often focused on specific work locations since asbestos was used to make a variety products and many workers were exposed to asbestos at work. Asbestos sufferers often develop serious illnesses such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

New York has a unique approach to asbestos litigation. It is among the largest dockets across the United States. It is governed by a unique Case Management Order. This CMO was designed to handle asbestos cases with many defendants. The judges who are part of the NYCAL docket have extensive experience in asbestos cases. The docket has also seen some of the highest settlements for plaintiffs in recent years.

New York Court of Appeals has made major changes to the NYCAL docket last week. In 2015 the political system in Albany was shaken to its core when the court convicted the former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on federal corruption charges. He was accused of sabotaging tort reform bills in the legislature over a period of 20 years, while moonlighting at the plaintiffs firm Weitz & Luxenberg.

Justice Sherry Klein Heitler, the long-time head of the NYCAL docket, retired in April 2014 amidst reports that she had given the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm "red-carpet treatment." She was replaced by Justice Peter Moulton, who introduced a variety of changes to the docket.

Moulton established an entirely new rule for the NYCAL docket, which requires that defendants file proof that their products were not the cause of mesothelioma of plaintiffs. He also implemented new rules that stipulated that he would not dismiss cases until the expert witness testimony had been completed. This new policy will significantly alter the speed of discovery in cases in the NYCAL docket, and could result in more favorable outcomes for defendants.

In other New York asbestos news, an federal judge from the Eastern District of Virginia recently dismissed MDL 875 and ordered all future asbestos cases to be transferred to another district. This should lead to more efficient and uniform handling of these cases, since the MDL currently MDL has earned itself reputation for abuse of discovery as well as unjustified sanctions and a lack of evidentiary requirements.

Central New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

After years of mismanagement and corruption by the former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the scandals regarding his connections to asbestos lawyers have finally focused attention on New York City's asbestos docket that is rigged. Justice Peter Moulton is now the head of NYCAL and has already held a town hall meeting with defense lawyers to hear complaints about the "rigged" system that favors one mighty asbestos law firm.


Asbestos litigation is different from the typical personal injury case because it involves a number of the same plaintiffs and defendants. Asbestos lawsuits also usually involve similar workplaces where a lot of workers were exposed to asbestos, frequently leading to mesothelioma or lung cancer, as well as other diseases. This can result in large verdicts that can block dockets of the courts.

To address the problem In order to tackle the issue, a few states have passed laws that limit these kinds of claims. These laws usually address medical requirements two disease rules, expedited scheduling, joinders, forum shopping, punitive damages and successor liability.

Despite these laws, certain states continue to experience high numbers of asbestos lawsuits. In an effort to reduce the number of filings and resolve them faster, some courts have established special "asbestos dockets" that use a variety of different rules to these cases. The New York City asbestos court for instance, requires applicants to meet certain medical requirements, has two-disease rules and employs an accelerated scheduling.

Certain states have passed laws that restrict the amount of punitive damage that can be awarded in asbestos cases. These laws are intended to discourage bad conduct and provide more compensation to victims. Whatever the case is filed in a state or federal court, you should work with an New York mesothelioma lawyer to know how these laws impact your specific situation.

Alfred Sargente focuses his practice on toxic tort and environmental litigation as well as commercial litigation, product liability and general liability matters. He has a wealth of experience in defending clients against claims alleging exposure to asbestos, lead and World Trade Center dust in both New York and New Jersey. He defends clients regularly against claims that claim exposure to a variety of other hazardous substances and contaminants like solvents and chemicals as well as noise, mold, vibration, and environmental contaminants.

Southern New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

New York has seen thousands of deaths caused by asbestos exposure. In five counties, mesothelioma sufferers and their families have filed lawsuits against companies of asbestos-based products for compensation. Mesothelioma lawsuits that succeed hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their reckless choices.

New York mesothelioma lawyers are experienced in representing clients from diverse backgrounds against the nation's largest asbestos producers. Their legal strategies could lead to a generous verdict or settlement.

Asbestos litigation has a long history in New York, and continues to make headlines. The 2022 mesothelioma claim national report from KCIC lists New York as the third most popular state for mesothelioma lawsuits just behind California and Pennsylvania.

The judicial system of the state has been shaken by the flurry of asbestos lawsuits. In 2015 the former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted on federal corruption charges that were linked to the millions of dollars in referral fees he earned from the politically-powerful plaintiffs' law firm Weitz & Luxenberg from handling asbestos cases. Justice Sherry Klein Heitler was named NYCAL's manager following the revelations of the scandal. She was in charge of NYCAL since the year 2008.

Justice Peter Moulton succeeded Justice Heitler as NYCAL judge. He has stated that defendants won't be able to get summary judgment unless they have a "scientifically valid and legally admissible research" proving the measured dose of exposure a plaintiff received was not sufficient to cause mesothelioma. This effectively eliminates the possibility that NYCAL defendants will be able to secure summary judgment.

Additionally, Justice Moulton has ruled that a plaintiff has to prove some damage to their health due to exposure to asbestos for the court to award compensatory damages. This ruling, combined with a ruling from the beginning of 2016 that held that medical monitoring was not a tort, makes it almost impossible for an asbestos defence lawyer to prevail on a NYCAL Summary Motion for Judgment.

In the latest case, Judge Toal presided over, a mesothelioma suit filed against DOVER GREEN, the company is accused of violating asbestos work practices regulations when it renovated Manhattan campus buildings in October 2013 to raise funds for a fundraising event. The lawsuit asserts that DOVER GREENS did not follow CAA and Asbestos NESHAP requirements by failing to conduct an inspection of the Campus; notifying EPA prior to beginning renovations; appropriately remove, store, and dispose of asbestos; and have a trained representative on site during renovations.

Eastern New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

At one point asbestos-related personal injury/death cases filled state and federal courts and drained judges' judicial resources and prevented them from addressing criminal cases or other crucial civil disputes. The frenzied litigation hindered the timely compensation of deserving victims, irritated innocent families, and prompted firms to commit huge amounts of money and resources in defense of these cases.

Asbestos claims are filed by individuals who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related illnesses after being exposed to asbestos in their work environment. Most asbestos claims are filed by construction employees, shipyard workers, and other tradesmen working on buildings constructed or that contain asbestos-containing materials. They were exposed to asbestos fibers that were dangerous during the manufacturing process or while working on the structure.

The first major mass tort was asbestos litigation. In the latter part of the 1970s and 1980s an avalanche of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits arising from exposure to asbestos was a major issue for courts. This happened in state and federal courts across the nation.

Plaintiffs in these lawsuits contend that their illnesses resulted from the negligence of asbestos-related products' manufacture and that companies did not warn them about the dangers associated with such exposure. More than half of asbestos lawsuits are brought in federal courts.

In ny asbestos litigation , after recognizing that this litigation constituted "terrible calendar congestion," District Judge Jack B. Weinstein and New York Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman jointly consolidated for settlement, pretrial and discovery purposes hundreds of federal and state cases that alleged exposure to asbestos at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Under the supervision of a Special Master, Judge Weinstein and Justice Freedman consolidated these cases known as Brooklyn Navy Yard consolidation.

Although the majority of these cases were related to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, many of the defendants were common defendants in other asbestos claims. The defendants were Garlock, Inc, H & A Construction Company, as successors to Spraycraft Corporation, CRH, Inc. and successors to E.I. Dupont; W.R. Grace and Company; Empire-Ace Insulation Manufacturing Corporation; Bell/Atlas Asbestos Corp.; and DNS Metal Industries, Inc.

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