N.J. Appellate Court Reverses $2.38 Million Asbestos Verdict Against Union Carbide, Cites Erroneous Jury Instructions

TRENTON, N.J. –– A New Jersey appellate court has reversed a $2.38 million verdict entered against Union Carbide, concluding that the trial court erred when instructing the jury that the defendant’s duty to place an adequate warning on the product could not be discharged through warnings and information to the employer.

In the May 26 opinion, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, concluded that the instruction on duty to warn is presumptively reversible and, as such, a new trial is warranted.

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Willis Edenfield, contending that the decedent developed mesothelioma as a …