N.Y. Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court Order Tossing $3.5 Million Asbestos Verdict Against Con Edison

NEW YORK –– A New York appellate court has reversed a trial court order reducing a $3.5 million asbestos verdict, finding that Con Edison’s specifications affirmatively required the use of hazardous asbestos-containing insulation materials.

In the Jan. 10 order, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, opined that the defendnat’s specifications affirmatively required the use of hazardous asbestos-containing insulation materials, and that the defendant monitored work for compliance with those specifications.

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Harry Brown, whose work as an insulator for subcontractor Robert A. Keasbey Inc. at a newly constructed Con Edison …