Mesothelioma Verdict Upheld by New York Supreme Court Justice in Landmark Upstate New York Case Involving Navy Boilerman

In a Decision and Order dated December 4, 2008, New York Supreme Court Justice James W. McCarthy upheld a five million mesothelioma verdict awarded to an Ithaca, New York resident who served as a Navy boilerman in the early 1960s aboard the U.S.S. Roan (DD-853). The jury award is believed to be the largest ever mesothelioma verdict in Upstate New York and the first ever mesothelioma verdict in Syracuse, New York (Onondaga, County).

In its Decision and Order, the Court rejected the legal challenges to the mesothelioma verdict made by defendant Foster-Wheeler in its post trial motions. Specifically, the Court upheld its pre-trial ruling denying Foster-Wheeler's request to have the Navy listed on the verdict sheet as a party to which the Jury could attribute fault. This decision was based on, among other things, the Navy's absolute immunity for injuries sustained in the course of military service. The Court also denied Foster-Wheeler's request to have the government contractor defense charged to the jury, finding the record utterly bereft of any evidence that the Navy prohibited Foster-Wheeler from warning. The Court also found that the issue of proximate cause was properly left for the jury who decided that Foster-Wheeler's failure to warn about the hazards of asbestos was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injuries. Finally, the Court found that there was sufficient evidence to find that a duty to warn existed based on factual proofs that Foster-Wheeler knew that asbestos materials would be used by boilerman repairing and servicing its boilers on the USS Roan.

For decades asbestos litigation in the State of New York has centered around the New York City Asbestos Litigation, www.nycal.net, in New York, New York. Increasingly, cases of mesothelioma are being discovered throughout the State of New York and there has been more activity in mesothelioma lawsuits in Upstate New York venues, such as in Erie County (Buffalo, NY), Onondaga County (Syracuse, NY), Schenectady County (Albany, NY) and Broome County (Binghamton, NY).

For more information, please contact the mesothelioma lawyers at Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, by calling 1-800-MESO-LAW (637-6529).