A New Jersey appeals court recently overturned talc verdicts totaling $117 million in damages against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (JJCI) and Imerys Talc America, Inc. (Imerys) after finding expert testimony was Daubert-less, thus improper and warranted new trials.
Virtual civil jury trials will be scheduled statewide in New Jersey starting April 5, 2021, with consent to proceed remotely not required as part of the state’s two-phase approach to virtual jury trials for all dockets and tracks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Thomas-Fish v. Aetna Steel Prod. Corp., plaintiff Helen Thomas-Fish alleged her husband Robert Fish had died from mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos through his work at a shipbuilding yard in New Jersey in 1960. No. 17-CV-10648 RMB/KMW, 2019 WL 2354555, at *1 (D.N.J. June 4, 2019). Plaintiff brought a wrongful death claim against various defendants including Sonic Industries (“Sonic”), an alleged joiner contractor that installed asbestos-containing paneling during shipbuilding. Sonic was incorporated in California in 1966, six years after the alleged exposure in this case. In addition, Sonic maintained its principal place of business in Connecticut. Accordingly, Sonic was not subject to general jurisdiction in the state of New Jersey. Instead, Plaintiff asserted that Sonic was subject to specific jurisdiction in New Jersey through an unnamed predecessor entity under a successor liability theory. Defendant Sonic filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2).
| December 18, 2018 | Editor: Jen Dlugosz | Assistant Editor: Natalie Holden |
| New Developments |
| This will be our final Toxic Tort Monitor for 2018. Thank you for continuing to subscribe to these updates. We wish you all happy holidays. Have a joyful new year! |
| Cook County Jury Returns a Defense Verdict in Mesothelioma Trial |
| September 26, 2018 | Editor: Jen Dlugosz | Assistant Editor: Natalie Holden |
| New Developments |
| Fifth District Finds Personal Jurisdiction Lacking Over Ford in Long-Awaited Jeffs Decision By Andrew Hahn The Fifth District Appellate Court issued its long-awaited decision in Jeffs v. Ford Motor Company recently finding that Ford Motor Company was not “at home” in |
| May 15, 2018 | Editor: Jen Dlugosz | Assistant Editors: Anne McLeod and Natalie Holden |
| New Developments |
| Order of Operations: Maryland’s Highest Court Analysis of the Statute of Repose and Discovery Rule’s Applicability to Asbestos Cases By Soham Desai On March 28, 2018, the Court of Appeals of Maryland, Maryland’s highest court, was asked |
| February 12, 2018 | Editor: Jen Dlugosz | Assistant Editors: Anne McLeod and Natalie Holden |
| New Developments |
| Which Came First: Subject Matter or Personal Jurisdiction? By Mary Kate Mullen Two recent Eastern District of Missouri cases examined the same issue, yet the court reached opposite results. In Lewis v. Johnson & Johnson and Jinright v. |
| August 3, 2016 |
| New Developments |
| Northern District of Illinois Denies Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration in Take-Home Exposure Case By Jen Dlugosz In May 2016, we reported the Northern District of Illinois’ decision in Neumann v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, No. 15-C-10507, 2016 WL 930662 (N.D. Ill. March 10, 2016). Following that ruling, plaintiff moved for |
| March 1, 2016 |
| New Developments |
| Jury Awards $72 Million in Talc-related Cancer Case in St. Louis By Jen Dlugosz Last week, a St. Louis jury awarded $72 million to the family of a victim who alleged that her ovarian cancer was caused by personal use talcum powder. The plaintiff alleged that the decedent used Johnson |