Settlements in Talc Mesothelioma Case Discoverable, Kan. Federal Magistrate Judge Rules

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas federal magistrate judge has ordered the plaintiff in a talc mesothelioma case to comply with production requests for settlement agreements he reached with certain defendants in the case, agreeing with the moving defendant that they are relevant to its alleged liability.

However, in the Feb. 22 order, Magistrate Judge Angel Mitchell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled that the plaintiff need not produce settlement communications, finding the moving defendant has not shown how they are relevant.

Dennis Dickenson was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2021. He sued a number of product …