Appeals Court Upholds $7 Million Punitive Damage Award

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Missouri trial court did not err in its decision to allow a jury to hear evidence related to a $7 million punitive damages award assessed against the manufacturer of an asbestos product that caused an operating engineer to develop mesothelioma, a state appeals court has held. Hoskins v. Business Men's Assurance, et al., No. WD 61744 (Mo. Ct. App.).

In affirming the award, the Missouri Court of Appeals held that Sprayed Limpet Asbestos manufacturer T&N was aware that its product was unreasonably dangerous to workers such as plaintiff Forest Hoskins before Hoskins was exposed to …