Ky. Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment Awards for 3 Asbestos Friction Defendants

NEWPORT, Ky. –– A Kentucky appellate court has affirmed awards of summary judgment entered in favor of three friction product defendants, ruling in part that the only way a jury could conclude that the decedent’s mesothelioma was caused by the defendants’ products is “pure speculation.”

In the July 15 opinion, the Kentucky Court of Appeals opined that the “necessary link” between the defendant’s specific asbestos-containing products and the alleged injury is missing from the instant case.

The plaintiffs brought the claims on behalf of Hershel W. Mannahan, contending that he developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing brake …