The estate of James Baccus will receive $7 million in compensatory damages and $18.2 million in punitive damages. There were also several defendants who settled prior to the damages phase of the trial for undisclosed amounts.
James Baccus, who died of malignant mesothelioma, allegedly worked around asbestos while he served in the U.S. Navy in Philadelphia, making the case relevant to this jurisdiction. The majority of his injuries, however, allegedly occurred in Kentucky, where his family now lives, and he once worked for American Synthetic Rubber, according to Shein.
His case, Baccus v. Crane Co., was brought against the Crane Co., John Crane and Yarway, a company. The defendants sought to have Kentucky law apply to the jury’s findings in Baccus and the judge agreed. The jury had previously awarded $7 million in compensatory damages to Baccus and apportioned liability in the amount of 45 percent against John Crane, 35 percent against Crane Co. and 20 percent against Yarway.
The jury, applying Kentucky law, also found Yarway and Crane Co. “grossly negligent for failure to warn of the dangers of asbestos in reckless disregard of the safety of others.” The jurors assessed $11.9 million in punitive damages against Crane Co. and $6.3 million against Yarway.
This is the first case in Philadelphia in more than 20 years in which a jury awarded punitive damages in an asbestos case. The standard for applying such damages in an asbestos case in Pennsylvania is usually higher and Pennsylvania usually defers the finding of punitive damages until later in the case whereas Kentucky law instructs the court to do it sooner.
The defendants wanted to apply Kentucky law because it uses an apportioned liability standard in which each of the defendants, even those who previously settled, are given an individual portion of liability. The Pennsylvania model is more akin to “in for a penny, in for a pound,” in which each defendant splits the damages equally.
The defendants that settled before the compensatory damages phase of the trial were Ingersoll Rand, THAN, IMO/DeLaval, Westinghouse, Owens Illinois and Goulds Pumps.
The compensatory damages phase of the Baccus trial was done with Philadelphia rules under Pennsylvania law. The liability phase was allowed to go through under Kentucky law and Lynn allowed the punitive damages aspect to go forward.
