Manville, NJ Families Receive $90.5 M Verdict Against Foreign Asbestos Giant


NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (PRWEB) July 03, 2014

Verdicts totaling $ 90.5 Million in 11 mesothelioma death cases (1) – including a mother and daughter – were rendered by the Superior Court of Middlesex County after years of litigation and a week of hearings before the Honorable Ana C. Viscomi.

According to court documents, the plaintiff families – represented by the law firms of Levy Konigsberg and Szaferman Lakind – sued Anova Holding, AG and Becon, AG for the asbestos that they sold to Johns-Manville and which proximately caused their mesotheliomas – a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

The lawyers for the families utilized the procedures of international treaties to serve Anova and Becon (both foreign entities) with the complaints. Neither defendant appeared or answered the complaints. Undeterred, the plaintiffs successfully obtained Default Judgments against these companies, and again served them with notice of the scheduled Proof Hearings through The Hague Convention procedures.

Starting on June 20, 2014, court hearings were held to award damages to these families. The families were represented at the hearings by Leah Kagan and Moshe Maimon of Levy Konigsberg, and testimony of the mesothelioma victims, their families, and expert witnesses concluded on June 26, 2014. After deliberating upon the evidence, the Court awarded damages to each family for the pain and suffering of the mesothelioma victims and loss of consortium to their spouses. According to Kagan, “These families have suffered horribly at the hands of companies like Anova and Becon, and we are proud to represent them in their brave and unrelenting quest for justice.”

According to the lawsuit papers, Anova Holding, AG and Becon, AG are successors to the Eternit group of companies, which mined asbestos in South Africa, primarily, and sold it throughout the world, including to the Johns-Manville Company. In 2012, two executives from Eternit, family heir Stephan Schmidheiny and Belgian billionaire Baron Louis de Cartier de Marchienne, were convicted in a highly publicized criminal trial in Turin, Italy for their mining and sale of asbestos. They were held responsible for the deaths of almost 3,000 people (2).

Levy Konigsberg LLP is a nationally recognized trial law firm specializing in the representation of mesothelioma and other asbestos cancer victims. For more details about the hearing and judgment, contact Leah Kagan or Moshe Maimon.

(1) Tuturice v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-2030-10AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); DiTolvo v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-0464-10AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Durlester v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-9677-08AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Greene v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-8113-09AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Ketchem v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-10217-08AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Koshinsky v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-4059-08AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Lindsay v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-6858-09AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Slepokura v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-7717-09AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Tafil v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-215-09AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Troth v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-9794-09AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County); Upshaw v. Anova Holdings AG, et al., No. MID-L-7638-11AS (N.J. Super., Middlesex County).

(2) The Telegraph, 02/13/2012: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9079381/Pair-sentenced-to-16-years-in-Italy-asbestos-trial.html







Mesothelioma Attorneys at Baron and Budd Announce $48 Million Verdict on Behalf of Mesothelioma Patient in California

Los Angeles (PRWEB) November 23, 2012

A Los Angeles jury has awarded a major $ 48 million verdict to a California mesothelioma patient and the patient’s family after finding Union Carbide, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, Riverside Cement, CalPortland and others liable for the exposure to asbestos that led to a California patient’s mesothelioma diagnosis. This is the highest mesothelioma verdict in California in 2012. Baron and Budd mesothelioma lawyers John Langdoc and Christine Tamer represented patient and his family throughout the lawsuit (Bobbie Izell, et al. v. Union Carbide Corp., et al., Los Angeles County, Case No. 4674).

During the trial, Union Carbide offered numerous paid expert witnesses who argued that the company’s asbestos trade named Calidria asbestos does not cause cancer. According to court documents however, confidential internal memos have shown that even Union Carbide staff physicians reprimanded the company’s marketing and sales groups for telling customers that the company’s asbestos did not cause cancer.

Two other defendants involved in the trial, Riverside Cement and CalPortland, also brought in paid expert witnesses to testify that the amount of asbestos released from their products was trivial. According to court documents, however, bags of they companies’ construction products have been scientifically shown to have quadrillions of fibers of asbestos material.

While the jury found blame with all of the defendants, they assigned $ 18 million in punitive damages to Union Carbide for its corporate cover-up of the dangers associated with asbestos exposure.

Baron and Budd mesothelioma attorneys have been spearheading meaningful litigation for consumers for nearly 35 years. Baron and Budd was one of the first mesothelioma law firms to take on the asbestos industry and continues to fight today.

To learn more about the mesothelioma attorneys at Baron and Budd, call 1.866.855.1229 or visit the firms dedicated mesothelioma website Mesothelioma News. http://www.mesotheliomanews.com

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

The national mesothelioma law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has been Protecting Whats Right for asbestos sufferers and their families for nearly 40 years. As one of the first law firms to successfully litigate an asbestos lawsuit, Baron & Budd continues to actively represent veterans, industry workers and others who are suffering as a result of exposure to asbestos. Contact Baron and Budd at 1.866.855.1229 for additional information on mesothelioma treatments, mesothelioma cancer doctors and treatment centers and mesothelioma attorneys. http://baronandbudd.com







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