Solvent Defendants Get Relief from Bankrupt Shares in New York Asbestos Cases

NEW YORK - A New York Supreme Court justice has held that the apportionment of liability among joint tortfeasors in an asbestos case should include the liability assigned to a bankrupt defendant. Tancredi v. ACandS, Inc., No. 00-120136 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty.).

In an opinion released Nov. 6, New York County Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman clarified whether New York state law requires a solvent defendant in a personal injury or wrongful death action must absorb the liability for the non-economic losses of a tortfeasor that has filed for bankruptcy.

Answering in the negative, Justice Freedman held …