Del. Court Rejects Challenges to Order Finding Decedent’s Testimony Inadmissible in Asbestos Case

WILMINGTON, Del. –– A Delaware state court has affirmed a Special Master’s decision concluding that an unfinished deposition of a decedent was inadmissible, finding no error with the finding that the defendant did not have a meaningful opportunity to develop the decedent’s testimony.

In the Feb. 7 opinion, the Delaware Superior Court rejected the plaintiffs’ position that the testimony fit into a former testimony exception.

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of William Don Sykes, contending that the decedent developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products.

Sykes, according to the court, was diagnosed with mesothelioma …