Facts

John Nolen was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2008. He worked as a laborer at Kaiser Steel in 1965 and 1966 where he cleaned and swept up after pipefitters, who removed as well as installed asbestos containing insulation. From 1976 to 1979, plaintiff was a salesman for NALCO, where he sold chemicals to treat water in boilers and condensers. Plaintiff performed inspections and service calls at industrial sites. Plaintiffs sued Foster Wheeler for negligence, design defect, strict liability failure to warn and negligent failure to warn.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff alleged asbestos exposure to Foster Wheeler boilers at Chevron, Nestle, Pacific States Steel and Owens Corning Fiberglas.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Foster Wheeler defended the case on the lack of evidence showing an asbestos-containing product for which Foster Wheeler was responsible at any location where plaintiff worked. Even assuming an asbestos-containing product for which Foster Wheeler was responsible, there was no evidence of asbestos exposure from the boiler. There was no evidence as to when any Foster Wheeler boiler was manufactured, when it left Foster Wheeler's possession, the date of installation or maintenance history of any Foster Wheeler boiler. Moreover, given over 100 years of the medical state of the art, plaintiff, NALCO and the premises owners, knew or should have known of the health hazards of asbestos. Pursuant to OSHA guidelines established in 1972, plaintiff's employer and the premises owners were responsible for plaintiff's work place safety. Lastly, defendants contended that plaintiff himself was negligent.

Result

The jury awarded 8.02 million in total damages. The total economic damages were $521,887. The total non-economic damages were 7.5 million, with 2.5 million awarded to Mr. Nolen and 5 million awarded to Mrs. Nolen. The jury attributed 20 percent fault to Foster Wheeler and 80 percent to "all others."

Deliberation

three days

Length

three weeks