Court Affirms $4 Million Asbestos Verdict; 'Consumer Expectation' Charge

LOS ANGELES - A state appeals court has affirmed a more than $4 million verdict awarded to a former seaman who for four years during the 1960s was exposed to asbestos while cleaning and replacing gaskets aboard a U.S. Navy ship. Lane, et al. v. Gasket Holdings, Inc., No. B153966 (Calif. Ct. App., Second Dist.).

In doing so, the Second District California Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's decision to allow the jury to take the case with instruction on consumer expectation.

'The jury could reasonably conclude that ordinary users of the ... gaskets did not expect to develop …