Gasket manufacturer sues asbestos law firms for fraud. Garlock Technologies – in bankruptcy – is suing the law firms of:
- Belluck & Fox
- Shein Law Center (both in Philadelphia)
- Simon Greenstone
- Waters & Kraus (both in Dallas)
in connection with an asbestos exposure lawsuit or a mesothelioma lawsuit from asbestos exposure – either direct asbestos exposure or second hand asbestos exposure. The complaint – Gasket Manufacturer Sues Asbestos Law Firms For Fraud – alleges that the law firms double dipped or basically that conflicting claims had already been made by the law firms in earlier asbestos lawsuits or claims.
In another fraud case – besides Gasket Manufacturer Sues Asbestos Law Firms For Fraud – relating to asbestos exposure lawsuit or mesothelioma lawsuit that was filed by CSX against lawyers in Pittsburg (Robert Pierce and Louis Raimond), the judgment showed that the lawyers had used phony diagnoses to build asbestos exposure lawsuit or mesothelioma lawsuit against the CSX railroad.
A main component in payout by companies in asbestos exposure lawsuit or mesothelioma lawsuit is the trusts that companies have setup up to pay future asbestos claims.
The latest news related to Garlock Technologies (Parent EnPro) and its bankruptcy came yesterday when the bankruptcy judge revealed that the liabilities for asbestos exposure lawsuit and mesothelioma lawsuit claims to be set aside in a trust came to $125 million dollars. The judge, in his opinion notes the following:
“The estimates of Garlock’s aggregate liability that are based on its historic settlement values are not reliable because those values are infected with the impropriety of some law firms and inflated by the cost of defense. The best evidence of Garlock’s aggregate responsibility is the projection of its legal liability that takes into consideration causation, limited exposure and the contribution of exposures to other products. The court has determined that $125 million is sufficient to satisfy Garlock’s liability for the legitimate present and future mesothelioma claims against it.”
UPDATE: March 9, 2015
Having successfully removed the reference to bankruptcy court, Defendants now seek transfer to the Southern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1412. The court ruled: IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion to Transfer Venue (Doc. No. 44) is DENIED.
Judge Hodges cited, for example, what he called widespread evidence that many plaintiffs’ attorneys had for years concealed evidence that victims were exposed to potential carcinogens other than Garlock’s asbestos-lined gaskets. The judge said that over the past decade, Garlock’s “participation in the tort system was infected by the manipulation of exposure evidence by plaintiffs and their lawyers.”
People who develop this rare form of cancer were most likely exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers while working in various industries to support their families. It is common for the development of mesothelioma to occur 20 or sometimes even 40 years after initial exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos fibers have been used in the manufacturing of a wide variety of industrial and household products in the United States and around the world.
For more on mesothelioma and asbestos, please visit the links below:
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People who develop this rare form of cancer were most likely exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers while working in various industries to support their families. It is common for the development of mesothelioma to occur 20 or sometimes even 40 years after initial exposure to asbestos.