Court Affirms $5 Million Verdict, Finds No Violation of Pretrial State-of-the-Art Stipulation

SAN FRANCISCO - A plaintiff's introduction at trial of current federal regulations governing asbestos exposure did not violate terms of a pretrial stipulation prohibiting introduction of state of the art evidence related to the state of scientific and medical knowledge at the time the plaintiff was allegedly exposed to the defendant's products, a state appeals court has held. Efstratios v. John Crane, Inc., No. B156713 (Calif. Ct. App., Second Dist.).

In a Sept. 16 decision affirming a more than $5 million asbestos verdict, the California Court of Appeal held that defendant John Crane failed to identify any aspect of the …