Asbestos Lawsuit Stay Granted In Vest v. Allied Packing & Supply

Westlaw recently reported that the Northern District of California stayed an asbestos lawsuit in which plaintiff was claiming his asbestos related illness was due to exposure to asbestos brought home on his father’s work clothes and from visiting his father while he worked on airplanes at the World Airways’ hangers in California.  (Timothy Vest, et al. v. Allied Packing and Supply, Inc., et al.)

Secondhand exposure to asbestos, such as in this case, is just as likely to cause asbestos related injuries, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer, to family members who come into direct contact with workers handling the toxic material.  Usually cases are filed in the state in which the exposure occurred, in this case, California.  California law helps people who have an asbestos related injury sue and receive fair compensation from responsible parties.

Defendant McDonnel Douglas Corp. requested the case be transferred from Alameda Superior Court where it was originally filed in December of 2009 to the asbestos Multidistrict Litigation in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania.  The Plaintiff’s immediately filed an Emergency Motion to Remand to the state court, but the Court refused to hear it unless the Multidistrict Litigation proceedings are “unreasonably protracted” or if the plaintiff’s medical condition were to become worse.

Asbestos companies and manufacturers will often try to find a reasonable cause for moving to a jurisdiction outside California, hoping that the other state’s laws are not as favorable to the plaintiff.   The court often has to determine if there is a more suitable alternative forum, and the end decision is always up to the judge’s discretion.

Sometimes the need for making the trial less financially burdensome and more expeditious (especially in the case of advanced illness) takes precedence and judges will not grant motions to move jurisdictions.

In this case, the stay was granted based on the argument that some of the aircraft serviced at World Airways were military aircraft, hence a federal agency was responsible for the conduct that led to the asbestos related injury, thereby making this case fall under federal jurisdiction.   For more detailed information about the stay, read Asbestos Lawsuit Stayed in Take-Home Exposure Case.

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