Gerald August; Jimmy Beasley; Billy Brown; Allan Fortes; Pedro Gallegos; Stanley Lucien; Alfred Schooley, et al. (14 consolidated cases) v. Raymark Industries, Inc. / Consolidated No. L085642.
Published: Sep. 19, 1998 | Result Date: Feb. 24, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: L085642 Verdict – $6,245,000
Judge
Court
Solano Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Gilbert L. Purcell
(Brayton & Purcell)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Donald Breyer
(medical)
Charles W. Ay
(technical)
Eric Sternlicht
(medical)
Allan H. Smith
(medical)
Barry Ben-Zion Ph.D.
(technical)
Carolyn S. Ray
(medical)
Barry R. Horn M.D.
(medical)
Arnold R. Brody Ph.D.
(technical)
Kenneth Cohn
(technical)
Barry Castleman
(medical)
Samuel P. Hammar
(medical)
Defendant
Elliott Hinkes
(medical)
Jack E. Peterson
(medical)
Gerald C. Meyers
(medical)
William G. Hughson
(medical)
Colleen Bergin
(medical)
William S. Breall
(medical)
Norman Moscow M.D.
(medical)
Facts
The plaintiffs, seven injured workers and the families of seven deceased workers who were employed as shipwrights, electricians, laborers, plumbers or inspectors from the 1940s to the 1980s, claimed that during the course of their employment, the plaintiff workers and decedents were exposed to hazardous asbestos dust from the defendant's products that caused them lung damage or cancer. Four of the decedents died from mesothelioma, a fatal cancer involving the lining of the lung. Although this cancer is rare in the general population, about 1,500 to 2,000 cases occur each year in people exposed to even relatively small amounts of asbestos, with the average life expectancy after diagnosis to be between 12 and 18 months. The three other decedents suffered from lung cancer and cor pulmonale, a failure of the right heart ventricle due to asbestotic lungs. The plaintiffs, Gerald August, Andrew Beasley, Billy Brown, Allan Fortes, Pedro Gallegos, Stanley Lucien, Alfred Schooley, Samuel Allen, Dora Davidson, Kaye Mullins, Frank Palagi, Hubert Walker, Louis Wallace and Ralph Yarbrough, brought this action against defendant Raymark Industries Inc. based on product liability, conspiracy and fraud theories of recovery. Two plaintiffs made loss of consortium claims.
Settlement Discussions
Each individual plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand. Defendant did not accept any plaintiff's demand and, per plaintiff, in each case plaintiff's award exceeded their demand.
Damages
Per the defendant, plaintiffs' attorney asked the jury to award more than $12 million in compensatory damages.
Other Information
Subsequent to the verdict in the first subgroup of cases, and with the punitive damages phase pending, Raymark filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Raymark's bankruptcy filing will prevent the trial of the remaining 37 plaintiffs' cases that was set to begin on March 24, 1998, from proceeding. Defense attorney reports that the Solano Court consolidated 51 cases for trial over defendant's objection, and the results of this trial were inconsistent with results defendant has achieved in California jurisdictions in which the court had conducted separate trials for each plaintiff.
Deliberation
nine days
Length
four months
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