Jury Finds for Asbestos Defendant Copeland after Company Points Finger at Talc Mining Exposure

LOWVILLE, N.Y. –– An upstate New York jury has reached a defense verdict in favor of Copeland Corp., rejecting the plaintiffs’ claims that asbestos-containing gaskets in the defendant’s compressors caused the decedent to develop mesothelioma.

The New York Supreme Court for Lewis County jury reached the verdict on Jan. 27 after two hours of deliberations, sources said. Judge Charles C. Merrell presided over the three-and-a-half week trial, during which the defendant pointed to autopsy results to support its argument that the decedent’s illness was caused by exposure in a talc mine.

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of …