Judge's Consult with Off-the-Record Asbestos Literature Is Not Misconduct, Court Rules

SAN FRANCISCO - A California appellate court has refused to overturn a trial court's decision to grant judgment for defendants in a case where the plaintiff alleged that his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was caused by his exposure to asbestos. Dressler, et al. v. Honeywell International, Inc., No. A099420 (Calif. Super. Ct., San Francisco Cty.).

According to a decision issued Dec. 12 by the First District California Court of Appeal, the trial court did not commit misconduct, as the plaintiff had alleged, when it conducted independent research related to the proof necessary to establish that asbestos exposure could cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

A …