Ron Hack | Blog for Business Law

— By Ron HackMay 21, 20190 Comments

ILLINOIS EMPLOYERS NO LONGER HAVE IMMUNITY FROM ASBESTOS LAWSUITS BROUGHT BY FORMER EMPLOYEES

On May 17 , 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation that lifted restrictions for workers suffering from occupational diseases resulting from exposure to toxic substances such as mesothelioma and lung cancer resulting from asbestos exposure for filing civil actions against their former employers. Supported primarily…

— By Ron HackApril 3, 20190 Comments

U.S. SUPREME COURT MAKES IT EASIER TO SEEK DAMAGES AGAINST DEFENDANTS WHO ONLY SUPPLIED METAL PARTS TO BE SUED IN MARITIME CASES

On March 29, 2019, the United States Supreme Court made it easier for asbestos plaintiffs to recover damages against a group of defendants who never sold or supplied any asbestos materials. In Air & Liquid Systems Corp., v. DeVries, the Supreme Court held that so…

— By Ron HackFebruary 12, 20180 Comments

APPLICATION OF THE “OPEN and OBVIOUS” DOCTRINE

What to most of us would seem to be an obvious conclusion, the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that if you try to move rolls of insulation in a self-service area, and notice that a stack of insulation is leaning, don’t expect…

— By Ron HackJanuary 2, 20180 Comments

OH MY, MY RELATIVE HAS JUST DIED, WHAT DO I DO?

There is an all too common occurrence facing many people: What to do when an elderly person dies and you are the only one around to pick up the pieces. Here is the scenario: You receive a call and learn your Great Aunt Minnie or…

— By Ron HackSeptember 7, 20170 Comments

ASBESTOS PLAINTIFF EXPERTS CAN’T TESTIFY EVERY EXPOSURE IS A CUMULATIVE CAUSE OF CANCER

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently decided that a major type of testimony traditionally used by asbestos plaintiff’s medical experts to attribute a cancer’s causation to each and any exposure to asbestos (no matter how long or intense) is unavailable…

— By Ron HackJune 23, 20170 Comments

HAS THE U.S. SUPREME COURT PUT AN END TO LAWSUIT TOURISM ONCE AND FOR ALL? OR “3 STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT [OF THIS JURISDICTION]”

A General Counsel knows the situation all too well. He or she receives word that the Company has been named as part of a multi-plaintiff case in a plaintiff friendly jurisdiction which has nothing to do with the underlying facts, and most of the plaintiffs…

— By Ron HackJune 16, 20170 Comments

SEVENTH CIRCUIT SAYS PLAINTIFFS CAN’T ESCAPE WORKERS COMP EXCLUSIVITY BY ARGUING NEIGHBORHOOD/COMMUNITY ASBESTOS EXPOSURE

Under a new Illinois case, plaintiffs cannot avoid the restrictions of a state’s workers’ compensation statute by claiming exposure to asbestos in the plant’s neighborhood ambient air caused their asbestos related disease, rather than the exposures that occurred during their long employment history. The Seventh…

— By Ron HackMay 25, 20170 Comments

CORPORATE DEFENDANTS BEWARE – MISSOURI APPELLATE COURT AFFIRMS $10 MILLION PUNITIVE DAMAGE VERDICT IN ASBESTOS CASE WITH ONLY “CIRCUMSTANTIAL” EVIDENCE OF KNOWLEDGE BY THE DEFENDANT OF THE HAZARD

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on May 2, 2017, affirmed a $10 million dollar punitive damages verdict, as well as a $1.5 million actual damages verdict, against Crane Co. in Poage v. Crane Co., No. ED103953 (Mo. App. E.D. 2017). This case is…

— By Ron HackMarch 20, 20170 Comments

Big change in Missouri Personal Jurisdiction Law for Non-Missouri Corporations

The Missouri Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision filed on February 28, 2017, held that non-Missouri corporations would not be held subject to the personal general jurisdiction of Missouri courts in civil suits, unless the corporation was organized under Missouri law, had its principal place…

— By Ron HackFebruary 9, 20170 Comments

Employers and Product Suppliers Beware: Is Welding Rod Litigation Going to Come Back

The publication of a new study in Neurology, that contends the long-term effects of airborne manganese from welding may be associated with an increasing appearance of Parkinsonism symptoms in welders and other exposed individuals, may resurrect a species of toxic tort litigation that was thought…