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Mealey's Asbestos

  • January 27, 2026

    Plaintiff/Defense Experts Testifying Since Jan. 1, 2002

    The following is a listing of plaintiff and defense experts who testified in trials covered by Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos since Jan. 1, 2002.

  • January 27, 2026

    Railway Seeks More Time To Organize Genetic Testing Blood Draw

    NEW ORLEANS — With the parties working toward mutually acceptable language for an order compelling a blood draw for genetic testing in a mesothelioma case, the railway at the heart of the dispute filed a consent motion seeking additional time to submit the order.

  • January 27, 2026

    Montana High Court Appoints New Chief Judge For Asbestos Court

    KALISPELL, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court appointed a new judge to oversee the statewide asbestos litigation in the wake of last year’s resignation of the previous judge, who had overseen the litigation since its original consolidation in 2016.

  • January 27, 2026

    Judge: Genetic Experts May Opine Only On General Causation In Asbestos Case

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana judge partially granted a man’s motion in limine challenging two experts, saying they may offer general causation opinions on the role genetics played in mesothelioma but not opinions about the specific cause of the man’s disease.

  • January 27, 2026

    J&J Challenges Causation, $950M In Punitive Damages In Asbestos-Talc Case

    LOS ANGELES — In a pair of motions, Johnson & Johnson tells a California judge that the family of a deceased woman failed to establish exposure to asbestos in talc and that its testing of its products was not consistent with the type of conduct required for punitive damages and especially not the $950 million awarded by a Los Angeles jury.

  • January 26, 2026

    Connecticut DMV: Case Law Supports Workers’ Comp Offset For Asbestos Settlements

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A recently discovered case further supports the conclusion that workers’ compensation benefits for mesothelioma can be offset by “any damages,” including settlements from an asbestos tort action, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) tells the state’s top court in a Jan. 23 citation of supplemental authority.

  • January 23, 2026

    Special Master Allows Asbestos, Causation Opinions In Talc MDL

    TRENTON, N.J. — In a more than 650-page report and recommendation, a special master in the Johnson & Johnson ovarian cancer asbestos-talc multidistrict litigation said plaintiffs’ experts could testify regarding causation and migration of talc fibers into the upper reproductive tract after perineal application, affirming a ruling originally issued in 2020.

  • January 23, 2026

    After Weeks Of Trial, Parties Settle California Asbestos-Talc Suit

    OAKLAND, Calif. — The last remaining defendant in an asbestos-talc trial in California that started in December asked the court for 10 minutes to finalize a settlement and after a short break notified the court that the parties resolved their differences.

  • January 22, 2026

    Automaker, Woman Debate Full Autopsy Disclosure In California Mesothelioma Case

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A woman and a foreign automaker briefed a California trial court on production of redacted autopsy records in a mesothelioma case, with the latter arguing in a reply brief that the evidence cannot be shielded behind attorney work product claims and that the production of tissue samples doesn’t alleviate the need for contemporaneous observations.

  • January 21, 2026

    Goodyear Hit With $12.5M Judgment In Louisiana Mesothelioma Case

    NEW ORLEANS — A judge in Louisiana entered judgment in favor of a mesothelioma sufferer and against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for more than $12.5 million after finding it liable for exposing the office manager to asbestos in brake products.

  • January 20, 2026

    5th Circuit Dismisses Appeal Of Order Remanding Asbestos Case

    NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 16 issued an unpublished order dismissing an appeal of an order remanding an asbestos case after the appellee argued that the conclusion that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction left the appellate court with nothing to review even if the judge also cited other reasons for remand.

  • January 14, 2026

    Atlas Turner Hit With Default Judgment After Attorney, Defense Admissions

    GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A federal judge in North Dakota granted a motion for default judgment against Atlas Turner Inc. on Jan. 13 after an attorney acknowledged the company received the motion but informed the plaintiffs that the company wouldn’t be replacing counsel and lacked the financial resources to continue defending asbestos cases in the United States.

  • January 14, 2026

    Reinsurers, Insurers Ask To Seal Summary Judgment Briefs In Indemnification Case

    TRENTON, N.J. —  The parties in a dispute between insurers and reinsurers over indemnification for asbestos bodily injury claims moved to seal confidential information as part of their cross-motions for summary judgment in a New Jersey federal court, stating that the filings contain nonpublic, competitively sensitive business information and that disclosure would cause competitive harm.

  • January 14, 2026

    J&J, Man Debate Trial Readiness, Need To Delay Maine Asbestos Trial

    PORTLAND, Maine — Johnson & Johnson entities responded to a plaintiff’s motion for a continuance by saying that lack of trial preparedness or resources is no reason to continue the asbestos case’s March trial date.

  • January 13, 2026

    Plaintiff/Defense Experts Testifying Since Jan. 1, 2002

    The following is a listing of plaintiff and defense experts who testified in trials covered by Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos since Jan. 1, 2002.

  • January 13, 2026

    Supreme Court Won’t Review Receiver’s Appointment In South Carolina Asbestos Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 declined to review a South Carolina judge’s ruling appointing a receiver over Canadian defendant Atlas Turner Inc.’s asbestos-related insurance assets, a practice the company described in its briefing as “astonishing.”

  • January 13, 2026

    Burnham Divests Asbestos Liabilities To Funded Subsidiaries

    LANCASTER, Pa. — Burnham Holdings Inc. (BHI) announced it would restructure, divest its asbestos-related liabilities and take other steps to streamline and optimize operations.

  • January 13, 2026

    Judge Allows But Limits Reliance On Moline’s Mesothelioma-Talc Studies

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A woman may rely on the more recent of expert Jacqueline Moline’s articles involving alleged cases of talc-only mesotheliomas in establishing that mined talc can contain asbestos and that asbestos can remain even after the milling process, but not to establish the likelihood of contracting mesothelioma through cosmetic talc use, a judge in California said in partially granting a motion in limine seeking to exclude reliance on the studies.

  • January 07, 2026

    COMMENTARY: Turning The Page: How Legislative Reform And Judicial Changes Are Reshaping Asbestos Litigation In The Mountain State

    By Thomas M. Hancock and Marc E. Williams

  • January 12, 2026

    Asbestos Cases Feature In Oral Arguments Over Federal Officer Removal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a case echoing asbestos litigation, oil companies and Louisiana on Jan. 12 sparred during oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court over whether well drilling activities in the state were sufficiently related to World War II-era contracts involving the production of aviation gasoline to trigger federal jurisdiction under 2011 amendments to the federal officer removal statute.

  • January 12, 2026

    Plaintiffs Settle With CVS After Talc Email Ruling, Seek Sanction On Last Defendant

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A pair of plaintiffs settled with a pharmacy after a California judge said he would admit an email in which an employee told co-workers what he learned about the dangers of consumer talc products.  The plaintiffs then asked the judge to sanction a second defendant for failing to produce a knowledgeable witness.

  • January 12, 2026

    John Crane Appeals $10 Million Judgment In Oregon Asbestos Case

    PORTLAND, Ore. — John Crane Inc. (JCI) filed a notice indicating that it would appeal an Oregon judge’s entry of a $10,284,000 limited judgment against it in an asbestos case involving the company’s gaskets.

  • January 12, 2026

    Merck Wants Expert’s Testing Materials In Asbestos Talc Case

    CHICAGO — A couple must produce the grids and other materials on which an expert relied in an asbestos-talc case so that the expert’s opinions can be fairly evaluated and challenged, a company told an Illinois judge.

  • January 12, 2026

    New York Appellate Court Won’t Stay Asbestos Case Pending Appeal

    NEW YORK — A New York appellate court declined to stay trial court proceedings while it considers a ruling denying summary judgment to American Honda Motor Co. in an asbestos case.

  • January 12, 2026

    New York Court Won’t Stay Case Pending Talc Company’s Appeal

    NEW YORK — A New York appellate court denied a motion to stay an asbestos-talc case pending appeal of a motion denying summary ruling, finding genuine issues of material fact about whether the company’s product was part of the CoverGirl product line.