Toxic Tort

December 13, 2022

FormanWatkins Wins Second Dismissal in Maritime Case

On October 10, 2022, an Orleans Parish District Court judge for a second and final time dismissed a mesothelioma asbestos exposure case in favor of two energy companies, represented by Forman Watkins & Krutz attorneys Byron Kitchens and Margaret McLaughlin, and Michael Abraham and Peter Moir, respectively. Plaintiffs are Italian citizens who initially filed suit under maritime law nearly ten years after their decedent’s mesothelioma diagnosis. The parties re-filed a new motion and Plaintiffs brought two witnesses to testify on their behalf, including one of the Plaintiffs and an Italian lawyer. After successful cross-examination executed by McLaughlin and Kitchens, the case was brought home by the testimony of the defense’s Italian medical expert, brought in by Moir. Ultimately, Civil District Court Judge Giarrusso granted the clients’ Renewed Exception of Prescription (motion to dismiss due to statute of limitations).

May 24, 2022

FormanWatkins team helps asbestos defendant win summary judgment in Washington

On May 5, 2022, the FormanWatkins team won summary judgment in an asbestos case pending in King County, Washington. Nick Giallourakis, Peter Moir, and Ruth Huskey, working closely with attorneys from Bullivant Houser Bailey, convinced the trial court to exclude inadmissible deposition testimony because the testimony had been given in a matter that did not include our client. The Plaintiff had no other evidence to support her claims of household exposure, and after the exclusion of the inadmissible testimony, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of our client. This win represents a significant victory, especially coming in a jurisdiction where summary judgment is not typically granted to defendants in asbestos cases.

May 17, 2021

Metcalf and Lewis Win Summary Judgment in Federal Pesticide Case

In a significant victory for a national forest-products client, FormanWatkins attorneys Joshua Metcalf and Chelsea Lewis won summary judgment in federal court in Louisiana.  Plaintiffs had sued over the application of a commonly-used herbicide to the client’s timberland, seeking monetary damages and an injunction preventing the use of any herbicide or pesticide on thousands of acres of the client’s property.

January 20, 2021

Metcalf and Lewis Successfully Exclude Speculative Medical Testimony in Forestry Herbicide Case

The FormanWatkins forest products team continues its strong performance defending companies who have been sued for alleged personal injuries. Recently, FormanWatkins attorneys Joshua Metcalf and Chelsea Lewis argued successfully for the exclusion of two medical doctors in a herbicide spraying case where the plaintiffs sought to use the doctors to establish a causative link between the herbicide at issue and the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries.

January 14, 2021

FormanWatkins Team Wins Summary Judgment in West Virginia Debut

FormanWatkins attorneys Fred Krutz, Brian Hannula, and Andrew Stubbs started off 2021 strong with a summary judgment win in West Virginia! The case was the first of six coal mining claims filed against the same respirator manufacturer to reach the summary judgment stage.

September 1, 2020

Oregon Ct. of Appeals Affirms Grant of New Trial for Firm Client

On August 26, 2020, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of a new trial to our client, finding that plaintiff’s counsel engaged in misconduct by failing to produce asbestos bankruptcy trust affidavits that proved alternative asbestos exposures, and that plaintiff’s counsel’s misconduct “materially affected” our client’s rights at trial. 

May 22, 2019

Toman and Diesa Win Summary Judgment in Asbestos Litigation

New Jersey partners Tom Toman and Nicole Diesa recently won a summary judgment motion in New Jersey asbestos litigation.  Despite a tentative decision to deny the motion, the Court eventually granted summary judgment and found that based upon a failure to establish causation, plaintiff could not submit a legally sufficient case against the manufacturer of electrical products represented by FormanWatkins.  Ms. Diesa wrote the winning briefs, and Mr. Toman gave the oral argument.

August 8, 2018

Silica Team Won Summary Judgment in Hinds County on Behalf of Precision Packaging

On August 1, 2018, Judge Joseph Sclafani entered an Order granting Precision Packaging’s motion for summary in the Robert Tucker case pending in Hinds County, Mississippi. Plaintiff had two claims against Precision: (1) a failure to warn claim; and (2) a “sand is defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous” claim. Plaintiff conceded Precision’s summary judgment motion on plaintiff’s failure to warn claim because plaintiff admitted in his deposition that the did not read Precision’s warning. However, plaintiff vigorously pursued his defective design claim.