After much deliberation, the mesothelioma lawsuit filed by John Koonce has finally come to an end. He originally filed the lawsuit against John Crane Inc. and Garlock Sealing Technologies, but Garlock has recently been excused from the $4.39 million dollar verdict by the jury.
John Koonce, a former shipyard worker for Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., originally contracted the asbestos-related disease in April 2006. His doctors and mesothelioma lawyers believe the asbestos exposure he experienced came from working in boiler rooms on Liberty ships being repaired between 1968 and 1971.
John Crane Inc., who is now responsible for all of the $4.39 million, has asked Circuit Court Judge David F. Pugh to set aside the results of the case. They believe the jury was wrong to place all the blame on one company when Koonce also used products containing asbestos from another company.
In previous cases involving the two companies, both were assigned separate damages to pay. John Crane Inc. and Garlock Sealing Technologies specialized in manufacturing asbestos-laden parts, including gaskets and packing material.
John Crane’s attorney said, “The jury’s utter disregard of the evidence regarding Mr. Koonce’s exposure to Garlock products resulted in John Crane being apportioned 100 percent fault and being left to bear the entire $4.39 million verdict alone.”
John Crane is asking for a new trial because the jury’s verdict went “against the evidence.” They also stated judge Pugh should reapportion the verdict between the two companies.
In regards to the apportionment of the verdict, Koonce’s attorney said, “The jury made a legitimate finding that the blame for Koonce’s malignant mesothelioma cannot be sliced between the defendants. It’s a finding that the jury was entitled to make.”
Koonce’s attorney plans to file a response to the motion of a new trial as soon as he can, but also wishes to take some time to rest before tackling the case again.
Source
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment