Court Upholds Asbestos Verdict, Reduces Damages by Nearly $4 Million

TYLER, Texas - A defendant ordered to pay more than $4 million in damages on the individual claims of a widow whose husband died from mesothelioma is entitled to a full credit for settlements that both plaintiffs reached with co-defendants prior to the husband's death, a Texas appeals court has ruled. Brown & Root, Inc., v. Shelton, No. 12-01-00259 (Texas Ct. App., Twelfth Dist.).

In a decision that reduces the widow's compensatory and punitive damage award to $60,000 after applicable setoffs, the Twelfth District Texas Court of Appeals held that both plaintiffs constitute one claimant for the purposes of determining …