Ill. Appellate Court Affirms Order Vacating $80 Million Asbestos Verdict in Conspiracy Case

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –– An Illinois appellate court has affirmed a decision vacating more than $80 million in damages entered against asbestos defendants Pneumo Abex LLC, Honeywell International (NYSE:HON) and Owens-Illinois (NYSE:OI), finding “no evidence” to support the plaintiffs’ conspiracy claims.

In the Sept. 18 decision, the Illinois 4th District Appellate Court echoed the trial court’s reasoning for vacating the jury’s award as to the three defendants, saying that the evidence “so overwhelming favors [the] defendants.”

The underlying claims were brought by Charles Gillenwater, who claimed that his work as a pipefitter in the 1970s exposed him to asbestos. Gillenwater …