Judges Must Play Key Role in Stemming Tide of Asbestos Litigation

About the Author

Steve Hantler is Assistant General Counsel for the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. This article is reprinted from the Washington Legal Foundation's Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 18, No. 15; Reprinted with Permission.

Several years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court lamented that "[t]he elephantine mass of asbestos cases . . . defies customary judicial administration and calls for national legislation." Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp., 527 U.S. 815, 821 (1999). Three times the nation's highest court has urgently pleaded for Congress to stem the flood of asbestos cases. Each time, to no avail. See generally www.asbestossolution.org.

In the …