December 29th, 2010 |
Published in
Announcements, Endoscopy Center Cases, Evans v. AW Chesterton
Lawyers USA has announced their “Lawyers of the Year 2010.”
Among the honorees are trial lawyer Robert Eglet, of Mainor Eglet in Las Vegas, and Bill Levin, of Levin Simes in San Francisco.
Courtroom View Network captured both Mr. Eglet’s and Mr. Levin’s award winning performances in 2010.
In Chanin v. Teva and Baxter, Robert Eglet and Will Kemp won a $500M+ verdict on behalf of a Las Vegas man who had contracted Hepatitis C at an endoscopy clinic as a result of unsafe dosing practices. The plaintiff argued that the extra large vials of anesthetic used by the clinic were defectively sized and failed to adequately warn against re-use.
In Evans v. CertainTeed, Bill Levin won a $200M+ verdict against asbestos pipe manufacturer CertainTeed. The plaintiff’s mesothelioma resulted from exposure to asbestos fibers when she washed the clothes of her husband, who was a pipe cutter.
Subscribe to CVN for just $199 and watch both award-winning performances above, plus thousands of other attorneys and expert witnesses for an entire year.
April 30th, 2010 |
Published in
Asbestos, Evans v. AW Chesterton, Mesothelioma, Products Liability, Toxic Torts
Rhoda and Bobby Evans’ $200M punitive damage award yesterday against asbestos pipe manufacturer CertainTeed may be a record for a single-plaintiff mesothelioma trial.
Perhaps the high award was motivated by a humble or sympathetic plaintiff, or perhaps by CertainTeed’s aggressive defense, which attempted to place the blame for Rhoda Evans’ mesothelioma entirely on Bobby Evans’ employer, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.
CertainTeed is a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA of France. Saint-Gobain had 2009 revenue in excess of 37 billion euros.
According to the plaintiff’s attorney, Bill Levin, of Levin, Simes, Kaiser & Gornick LLP,
“CertainTeed was fully aware that its products contained cancer causing asbestos, but chose not to warn about the risk for decades. It is our hope that the damages awarded will relieve some of Rhoda’s suffering, as well as the burden of her medical expenses so that her life will be prolonged and she can continue to care and provide for her young granddaughter, who was orphaned only a few short years ago…We also hope that the punitive damage award will serve to make the community safer by making product manufacturers think twice before concealing dangerous characteristics of their products.”
April 30th, 2010 |
Published in
Asbestos, Evans v. AW Chesterton, Mesothelioma, Products Liability, Toxic Torts
A Los Angeles jury has awarded $8.8M in compensatory damages and $200M in punitive damages in Evans v. A.W. Chesterton, an asbestos trial against defendants CertainTeed and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP).
Fault was allocated 70% to CertainTeed and 30% to DWP, but the punitive damage award was only against CertainTeed.
Rhoda Evans contracted mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos fibers that entered Evans’ home on the clothing of her husband Bobby, who cut asbestos pipes for DWP for twenty years.
The 12-person jury heard closing arguments on April 26, 2010.
In closing, plaintiff attorney Bill Levin argued that “CertainTeed is responsible because they sold a product containing a carcinogen without a warning. They absolutely knew that safer alternatives were available…There’s a big difference between a corporation that makes a product and 100% knows that there’s a deadly carcinogen — the worst deadly carcinogen, crocidolite — a company that knows that, and sells it anyway — a big difference between that and a water district that’s just trying to supply water service to a community.”
Los Angeles City Attorney for DWP, Will Pirkey, argued that the DWP “didn’t believe there was a risk to installers because that’s what the manual said…There are line drawings of a worker who is using the various methods of cutting the pipe or handling the pipe. In each and every drawing…there’s no mask. There’s no special clothing of any kind. There’s no gloves, no goggles, no hat. There’s nothing..We did comply with those work manuals…In 1971, the manual came out again, what did it say? Use an electric power saw. It’s ok. 1974, another manual comes out, what does it say? Use an electric power saw…We were never told that if you use a power saw, be it electric or be it gas, that there was going to result in unacceptable levels of exposure to asbestos.”
According to CertainTeed attorney William Sayers, “with manual tools, you get zero exposure levels…[DWP] knew generally about the hazards, they knew not to use the gas powered saw…and the next year DWP started doing it. That’s the evidence in this case…They were cutting safely until 1978.”
CVN is webcasting the Evans mesothelioma asbestos trial gavel-to-gavel.
April 6th, 2010 |
Published in
Asbestos, Evans v. AW Chesterton, Mesothelioma
Evans v. A.W. Chesterton, an asbestos mesothelioma case involving CertainTeed and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP), is being heard before Hon. Judge Conrad Aragon in Los Angeles.
Rhoda Evans allegedly was exposed to asbestos, which resulted in mesothelioma, when she washed her husband’s clothes. Her husband cut asbestos concrete pipes every day for the Los Angeles DWP, and as a result of this occupational exposure allegedly brought home asbestos dust and microscopic asbestos fibers on his clothes at the end of every work day for 20 years, starting in 1973.
Acccording to the plaintiff, the DWP did not know about the risk from asbestos, but the pipe supplier, CertainTeed, did know of the risk, but concealed that risk from the DWP to protect $40M in annual asbestos cement pipe revenue that would be lost if the DWP switched to safer, non-asbestos containing pipes.
The defense argued that the plaintiff’s mesothelioma was idiopathic, and that CertainTeed acted responsibly, and took steps to minimize exposure by providing safety manuals to DWP, and that it was DWP that failed to ensure the safety of its employees.
A month before the trial, the plaintiff and the DWP reached a settlement, with the amounts due contingent upon the percent of fault the jury allocated to DWP, if any, including a minimum and maximum amount that DWP would pay.
CVN is providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Evans v. A.W. Chesterton asbestos trial.