HPY Prevails on Summary Adjudication in Los Angeles County Mesothelioma Case

November 21, 2013 (Los Angeles, CA) – Barry Schirm prevailed on a motion for summary adjudication of a punitive damage claim in Los Angeles County on behalf of their client, a manufacturer of friction material used in brakes and other products which contained asbestos in the past.

Plaintiffs were the heir and the estate of the 79 year old decedent who suffered from pleural mesothelioma. Plaintiff alleged the decedent was exposed to asbestos from the grinding of brake lining materials while employed by a brake re-manufacturing company in Los Angeles from the mid-1950’s to mid-1970’s. Plaintiff further claimed that Hawkins Parnell & Young’s client knew of the dangers of asbestos during the time the decedent worked with the client’s friction material and acted with conscious disregard by failing to take appropriate to eliminate and/or warn of the known danger. The Court rejected this argument, finding that there was insufficient evidence to create a triable issue of fact on the claim for punitive damages.