N.Y. Judge Rejects Sophisticated User Defense in Asbestos Suit Against Union Carbide

NEW YORK — A New York judge has ruled in favor of a 40-year-old mesothelioma plaintiff who sued Union Carbide Corp. for failing to warn of hazards associated with dust exposure from a joint compound product containing the company’s Calidria asbestos.

New York County Supreme Court Justice Judge Sherry Klein Heitler said in a Jan. 14 decision that questions raised by the plaintiffs’ evidence regarding the extent to which Union Carbide relayed its knowledge of dangers associated with Calidria to its customers preclude an award of judgment for the defendant.

Union Carbide was named a defendant in a lawsuit brought …