Calif. Court Rejects BorgWarner’s Post-Trial Motions in Case that Ended in $39 Million Asbestos Verdict

LOS ANGELES –– A California trial court has denied an asbestos defendant’s motions for a new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, allowing to stand a nearly $39 million asbestos verdict and the 35 percent liability assessment against BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA).

In separate orders issued Nov. 25, the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County opined that the punitive damage award of $32.5 million was not excessive, as the plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence that BorgWarner “needlessly infect[ed] thousands of innocents.”

The plaintiffs said that the decedent had worked at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Van Nuys, Calif., for nearly …