Court Upholds Verdict for Plaintiff, Defendants Whose Products Weren't Significant Contributing Cause of Mesothelioma

PHILADELPHIA - A jury's decision to award more than $1 million to a former electrical worker whose alleged exposure to a John Crane rope packing product was not against the weight of the evidence presented at trial, a Pennsylvania appeals court has held. Tausz v. A.P. Green Refractories, et al., No. 2147 EDA 2001 (Pa. Super. Ct.).

In a decision affirming the trial court's denial of Crane's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that evidence of the product's release of asbestos fibers was adequately presented and weighed by the jury, which in December 2000, …