$210,000 Punitive Verdict in Natchez Asbestos Fraud Trial
There was a $210,000 punitive verdict on top of the $210,000 actual damages verdict in the Natchez asbestos fraud trial discussed in the prior post.
That’s a good verdict for Natchez. I got my clock cleaned there this time last year by Carl Hagwood and Michael Phillips. But they have a nice courtroom and Judge Bramlette is a great judge.
Mississippi Litigation Review
3/9/10
Ill. Central Railroad Gets Plaintiff’s Verdict in Natchez Asbestos Fraud Trial
There was a plaintiff’s verdict yesterday in federal court in Natchez in favor of Ill. Central RR against McComb lawyers William Guy and Thomas Brock. The trial involved the claims in two cases. Here are the Amended Complaints in the Turner case and the Harried case. Ill. Central sued the lawyers and their clients, but the clients obtained a defense verdict at trial.
The Complaints alleged that the individual defendants were plaintiffs in the big Cosey Jefferson County asbestos case that was filed in 1995 in which there was a massive plaintiff verdict around ten years ago. It was one of the verdicts that led to tort reform in Mississippi.
The defendants sued Ill. Central in 2001 in Jefferson County asserting an FELA claim related to exposure to asbestos. The defendants failed to disclose to Ill. Central that they were plaintiffs in the Cosey case and settled their claims with Ill. Central for $90,000 and $120,000 respectively. The individual defendants testified that the lawyers (Guy and Brock) were aware of their prior asbestos claims in Cosey.
Magnolia Tribune
