Judge: Awareness of Asbestosis Doesn't Create Liability for Mesothelioma

HOUSTON -- The judge presiding over the coordinated Texas asbestos docket has awarded partial summary judgment to Alcoa, ruling that awareness of the substantial certainty of asbestosis development does not mean an employer can be held liable for an employee's mesothelioma-related claims. Wilhite v. Alcoa, No. 2008-15687 (Texas Asbestos Multi District Litigation).

In the July 23 letter to counsel, Judge Mark Davidson, the Multi District Litigation Asbestos Judge, precluded claims based on Alcoa's alleged knowledge in the 1940s and 1950s, but left the door open for the plaintiff to present evidence of the extent of asbestos exposure in the 1960s, …