Court Denies Mandamus Petition to Halt Virginia Asbestos Case

RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia Supreme Court has dismissed a mandamus petition filed by a defendant in consolidated asbestos proceedings that are scheduled to get underway here in late October. In Re: Hopeman Brothers, Inc., No. 020518 (Va. Sup. Ct.).

In a brief decision issued Sept. 18, the state's high court said defendant Hopeman Brothers, Inc., is not entitled to the court's issuance of a writ of mandamus because it failed to establish 'a clear and specific legal right to be enforced, or a duty which ought to be and can be performed.'

Hopeman Brothers had sought the writ after …