Quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/us/montana-settlement-approved-for-asbestos-victims.html

Montana: Settlement Approved for Asbestos Victims

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: September 17, 2011

A $43 million settlement has been approved for more than a thousand asbestos victims who said state officials knew that dust from a mine was killing people but failed to intervene. An estimated 400 people have been killed and 1,750 sickened by asbestos released from a W.R. Grace & Company mine outside the town of Libby, about 40 miles south of the Canadian border. Lethal dust from the mine, which closed more than two decades ago, once blanketed the town. Judge Jeffrey Sherlock of District Court in Helena approved the deal to end a lawsuit against the state. Judge Sherlock had dismissed the victims’ claims in 2002, a decision the State Supreme Court overturned. The settlement stems from multiple lawsuits brought against Montana agencies for failing to protect victims in Libby. The state originally claimed in its defense that it had no legal obligation to provide warning of the mine’s dangers. The majority of the claimants in the settlement are now 65 years or older. Court documents filed as part of the settlement show that more than 1,173 victims will receive payments ranging from $500 to more than $50,000 for those afflicted with lung cancer or mesothelioma.

Quoted from http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/New_York/Insight/2011/09_-_September/New_York_jury_awards_$32_million_in_Navy_mesothelioma_suit/

New York jury awards $32 million in Navy mesothelioma suit

9/16/2011

WESTLAW JOURNALS, Sept. 16 – A jury in New York has awarded $32 million in damages to a Navy veteran who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while serving on ships over an 18-year career.

A defense lawyer said a certain appeal will settle important issues for the future of asbestos litigation in New York.

The damages represented $16 million for past pain and suffering and $16 million for future pain and suffering.

The jury in the New York County Supreme Court found defendant Crane Co. 99 percent liable and Elliott Turbomachinery Co. 1 percent liable.

Terry Budd of K&L Gates, national counsel for Crane, said the award is in “clear violation of New York appellate case law” as excessively high.

Budd said Crane will ask Judge Joan A. Madden to reduce the amount.

He said an award of about $3 million would be more in line with judgments in cases where similar injuries were alleged.

Plaintiff Ronald Dummitt served on Navy ships from 1960 to 1977. He said he worked as a fireman and boiler tender and was exposed to asbestos when he repaired valves made by Crane Co.

He also said he was exposed to asbestos in Elliott products when he removed and replaced lagging pads and manhole gaskets.

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