News & Knowledge

A FormanWatkins trial team consisting of Peter Moir, Tim Gray, and Margaret McLaughlin just obtained a defense verdict in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The case involved a claim that an equipment manufacturer supplied asbestos-containing components in equipment it provided to a copper mine and that the components caused the mesothelioma and subsequent death of a mine employee.  The defendant stipulated that the cancer was caused by asbestos exposure, but defended the case by contending that the employer was responsible for the plaintiff’s safety and any exposures from the client’s equipment were insignificant compared to other exposures at the mine.  The case was tried in the same courthouse in New Mexico in which a $165 million verdict was entered in a wrongful death case in 2018.  After a two week trial, including testimony by 8 expert witnesses, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before rendering a defense verdict.