Ocampo et al. v. Honeywell International et al.

Product liability, Asbestos exposure

Alameda County

Superior Court Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee

David Ongaro

Defense Lawyers: Ongaro PC, David R. Ongaro, Kirsten McNelly Bibbes, Nilufar K. Majd

Plaintiff's Lawyers: Paul Law Firm, Peter C. Beirne

In the nation's first asbestos jury trial held entirely by Zoom to reach a verdict, attorneys for Honeywell International Inc. scored a defense win in a case filed by a former custodian who claimed he got mesothelioma from exposure to the mineral in brake pads at auto dealerships where he worked.

Plaintiff Richard Ocampo contended his cancer was caused by Bendix Corp. brake linings that emitted asbestos dust. Honeywell acquired Bendix in the 1980s. Ocampo and his wife Elvia sued Honeywell after contracting peritoneal mesothelioma while a maintenance worker at a car dealership between 1991 and 1997. His lead attorney, Peter C. Beirne, sought $70 million in damages. Ocampo v. Honeywell International Inc., RG19041182 (Alameda Co. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 29, 2019).

Honeywell's legal team, led by David R. Ongaro, challenged the connection between Ocampo's cancer and his exposure to the brake linings. Ongaro argued that peritoneal mesothelioma is not caused by exposure to asbestos, that brake mechanics have no higher risk of mesothelioma than does the general population and that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that any Bendix brake pads were ever on the dealership's premises.

Beirne did not return a message seeking comment. Ongaro emailed that his client, Honeywell, does not permit him to discuss its cases. A Honeywell spokesman did not answer a request for comment for this story. Earlier, Honeywell spokesman Scott Sayres said, "Mr. Ocampo's illness has and will have a profound impact on him and his family and we are, of course, sympathetic. The overwhelming weight of the evidence established that Mr. Ocampo's disease was not caused by exposure to a Bendix product. We thank the members of the jury for their careful review of the facts and for rendering a verdict consistent with the evidence presented."

While the case was proceeding, however, Honeywell's defense team faulted the format and the jurors by filing a "Notice of Irregularities" while the trial was proceeding. They cited technical problems with the teleconference equipment plus claims that several jurors could be seen walking around, lying down or--in the case of one juror--"working and emailing from another computer during the parties' opening statements."

Before the jury began to consider the case in a Zoom breakout room, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee warned jurors not to allow anyone else in their room while they deliberated or to engage in any other activities "including caring for pets."

Lee replaced Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch, who recused himself after Honeywell's lawyers objected to comments to his clerk heard on live-streamed audio during a hearing about his own exposure to asbestos dust and the possibility he might get mesothelioma.

-- John Roemer