Many Of The Most Exciting Things That Are Happening With Ny Asbestos Litigation
New York Asbestos Litigation
Mesothelioma patients in New York can receive compensation from a mesothelioma lawyer. The exposure to asbestos is often the cause of these kinds of diseases; symptoms may take decades before they appear.
Judges who manage the caseload of NYCAL have developed a system that favors plaintiffs. A recent ruling could further erode defendants' rights.
Upstate New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets
Asbestos litigation is very different from the typical personal injury lawsuit. These cases involve many defendants (companies that are in court) as well as multiple law firms representing plaintiffs, and multiple expert witnesses. These cases are usually based on specific job sites since asbestos was used to create various products, and a large number of workers were subjected to it at work. Asbestos victims often suffer from serious illnesses such as mesothelioma or lung cancer.
New York has its own unique way of handling asbestos litigation. In fact, it's one of the largest dockets in the United States. It is governed by a unique Case Management Order. This CMO was created to manage large numbers of asbestos cases that involve a multitude of defendants. The judges involved in the NYCAL docket have extensive experience in asbestos cases. The docket is also the site of some of the most significant plaintiff verdicts in recent history.
New York Court of Appeals has made major changes to the NYCAL docket last week. In 2015, the political establishment in Albany was shaken to the base when the former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted on federal corruption charges. He was accused of sabotaging tort reform legislation in the legislature over a period of 20 years, while moonlighting at the plaintiffs ' firm Weitz & Luxenberg.
Justice Sherry Klein Heitler, the long-time supervisor of the NYCAL docket, resigned in April 2014 amid reports that she had given the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm "red-carpet treatment." She was replaced by Justice Peter Moulton, who implemented a number of changes to the docket.
Moulton introduced an entirely new rule for the NYCAL docket, which requires that defendants file evidence that their products were not responsible for mesothelioma of plaintiffs. He also instituted an updated policy that states that he would not dismiss cases until the expert witness testimony had been completed. This new policy may have significant effects on the speed of discovery in cases on the NYCAL docket and could result in a more favorable outcome for defendants.
In other New York asbestos lawyer news, an federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia recently dismissed MDL 875 and ordered all future asbestos lawyer cases to be transferred to a different district. This will hopefully lead to more efficient and uniform handling of these cases, since the MDL currently MDL has developed a reputation for discovery abuse, unwarranted 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 concerning his ties to asbestos lawyers have focused attention on New York City's asbestos docket, which is rigged. Justice Peter Moulton is now presiding over NYCAL and has already held a town hall meeting with defense lawyers to hear complaints about a "rigged" system that favors a powerful asbestos law firm.
Asbestos lawsuits differ from a typical personal injury case because it involves a lot of the same defendants and plaintiffs. Asbestos litigation also includes similar workplaces where a lot of people were exposed to asbestos, which led to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This can lead to large judgments in cases, which can block the courts dockets.
To address the issue to address the issue, a number of states have enacted laws that limit these kinds of claims. These laws typically address issues including medical requirements, two-disease regulations expedited case scheduling, forum shopping, joinders, punitive damages and successor liability.
Despite these laws, certain states continue to see an influx of asbestos lawsuits. Certain courts have created special "asbestos Dockets" to reduce the number of asbestos cases and speed up the resolution of these cases. These dockets are governed by various rules specifically designed for asbestos cases. The New York City asbestos docket for instance, requires claimants to meet certain medical requirements and has a two-disease rule and has an expedited trial schedule.
Certain states have also enacted laws to restrict the amount of punitive damages awarded in asbestos cases. These laws are intended to discourage particularly bad behavior and provide greater compensation to victims. It is recommended to consult an New York Mesothelioma Lawyer regardless of whether you file your case in federal or state courts to learn about the laws applicable to your particular situation.
Alfred Sargente focuses his practice on environmental and toxic tort litigation as well as product liability, commercial litigation and general liability matters. He has a wealth of experience defending clients against claims of exposure to asbestos, lead and World Trade Center Dust in both New York City and New Jersey. He also regularly defends claims claiming exposure to many other contaminants and hazards such as chemical and solvents, vibration, noise, mold and environmental toxins.
Southern New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets
New York has seen thousands of deaths caused by asbestos exposure. Across five counties, mesothelioma victims and their loved ones have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers of asbestos-based products to recover compensation. Mesothelioma lawsuits which are successful hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their reckless decisions.
New York mesothelioma attorneys have the experience of representing clients from all backgrounds against the largest asbestos producers in the United States. Their legal strategies may result in a generous settlement or trial verdict.
Asbestos litigation has a long history in New York, and continues to draw attention. The 2022 mesothelioma claim national report by KCIC declares New York as the third most popular state for mesothelioma lawsuits just behind California and Pennsylvania.
The state's judicial system has been shaken by the flurry of asbestos lawsuits. Sheldon Silver, the former Assembly Speaker, was convicted in 2015 on federal corruption charges in connection with millions of dollar referral fees which he received from powerful political plaintiffs' law firms Weitz & Luxenberg for handling asbestos cases. Justice Sherry Klein Heitler was named NYCAL's manager following the revelations of the scandal. She had been managing NYCAL since the year 2008.
Justice Heitler was succeeded as NYCAL judge by Justice Peter Moulton, who has made it clear that defendants are not entitled to summary judgment unless they can present an "scientifically sound valid, credible and admissible scientific study" that shows the measured dose of a plaintiff's exposure was not enough to cause mesothelioma. This effectively ends the possibility that NYCAL defendants can get summary judgment.
Justice Moulton also ruled that the plaintiff must prove some health harm suffered as a result of asbestos exposure to be able for the court to award compensation. This ruling, along with a ruling from the beginning of 2016 that ruled that medical monitoring was not a tort claim, makes it nearly impossible for an asbestos defence lawyer to win a NYCAL Summary Judgment motion.
In the most recent case, which Judge Toal presided over, a mesothelioma suit filed against DOVER Green, a company that is accused of not following asbestos work practices regulations when it renovated Manhattan campus buildings in October 2013 to raise money for a fundraising event. The lawsuit asserts that DOVER GREENS failed to adhere to CAA and Asbestos NESHAP regulations by failing to inspect and notify the EPA prior to starting renovations, and properly removing, storing and dispose of asbestos and having a properly trained representative present at renovation activities.
Eastern New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets
At one point, asbestos personal injury/death cases were a major blockage of state and federal court dockets and depleted judges' resources for judicial work and prevented them from addressing criminal matters or other important civil disputes. The bloated litigation impeded the timely settlement of victims and frustrated innocent families. It also caused companies to spend a lot of money on defense.
Asbestos claims can be filed by those diagnosed with mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related ailments, after exposure to asbestos in the workplace. Most asbestos claims are filed by construction employees, shipyard workers, and other tradesmen who worked on buildings constructed or containing asbestos-containing materials. These individuals were exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers during the process of manufacturing or when working on the structure itself.
Asbestos litigation was the first mass tort. From the late 1970s until the early 1980s, asbestos exposure triggered a flood of personal injury and wrongful deaths lawsuits. This happened in state and federal courts across the nation.
Plaintiffs in these lawsuits argue that their ailments resulted from negligence in the production of asbestos products and that companies failed to warn them about the dangers that come with exposure. More than half of asbestos attorney lawsuits are brought in federal court.
In the early 1990s, after recognizing that the litigation was a "terrible overloaded calendar," District Judge Jack B. Weinstein, and New York Supreme Court justice Helen Freedman consolidated hundreds of state and federal cases that alleged asbestos exposure at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for settlement or pretrial purposes. Under the supervision of the Special Master, Judge Weinstein and Justice Freedman consolidated these cases and referred to them as Brooklyn Navy Yard consolidation.
Although the majority of these cases were connected to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, many of the defendants were common defendants in other asbestos lawsuits. The defendants list included Garlock, Inc; H & A Construction Company, individually and as successor to Spraycraft Corporation; CRH, Inc. as the successor to E.I. Dupont; W.R. Grace and Company; Empire-Ace Insulation Manufacturing Corporation; Bell/Atlas Asbestos Corp.; and DNS Metal Industries, Inc.