New Orleans Jurors Award $4.4 Million in Case Against Ford Motor, Southern Talc Corp.

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana jury has awarded $4.4 million to the surviving family members of a former auto mechanic who was allegedly exposed to asbestos while working on police cruisers for more than 20 years and from talc in scrap materials used to make his household driveway.

The Louisiana District Court, Orleans Parish, jury reached the verdict on Dec. 6 after a two-week trial and three hours of deliberations. Chief Judge Piper D. Griffin presided over the trial, which included Ford Motor Co. as a defendant (NYSE:F).

In the complaint, the plaintiffs contend that William Oddo Jr. developed mesothelioma …