Two Major Victories for Asbestos Plaintiffs Exposed to Brakes Which Contained Asbestos

By: Chris Placitella @ May 28, 2014

This week there were two major victories for asbestos plaintiffs, who were exposed to asbestos containing brakes. The first case was against Ford.

After a long, tough, hard fought battle with Ford, a New York City jury returned a verdict in favor of Arthur Juni and his wife Mary Jo Juni. Mr. Juni died of mesothelioma at age 74 (during the middle of jury selection). Mr. Juni was a career Orange and Rockland County auto mechanic.

Eight million dollars was awarded for pain and suffering and $3 million loss of consortium.  Ford was found 49 percent responsible and the jury also concluded that Ford’s conduct was reckless. Congratulations to my friends and colleagues Adam Cooper, Benjamin Darche and Jerry Kristal who tired the case to verdict.

The second case was against Bendix who manufactured asbestos containing brakes. The second case was brought on behalf of Charity Phillips, the estate of descendent James Phillips and their children Jaycee Smith, Michael Phillips, and JT Phillips.

A Fresno County Ca  jury awarded $6,538,500 in non-economic damages and a stipulated amount of $900,000 in economic damages for a total of $7,438,500. The jury assigned 30 percent fault to Honeywell (Bendix). Honewywell (Bendix) was also hit with $3.5 million in punitive damages, bringing the total verdict to approximately 11 million. Congratulations to my friends and colleagues Stu Purdy and Rob Green who represented the Phillips family.