Miss. Supreme Court: Defendant Wrongfully Barred from Seeking Setoff from Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts

JACKSON, Miss. –– The Mississippi Supreme Court has found that an asbestos defendant was wrongfully barred from seeking a setoff from asbestos bankruptcy trusts, concluding the Federal Employers’ Liability Act did not allow a party to collect from multiple parties.

In the Feb. 15 opinion, the state’s highest court did remand the proceedings for a determination of whether the bankruptcy trust payments involved the same injury as alleged in the underlying complaint.

Plaintiff Clara Hagan filed the underlying complaint in 2009 as the representative of Bennie Oakes, contending that Oakes had been exposed to asbestos-containing products. The exposure caused Oakes …