Illinois Court Reverses Supplier's Directed Verdict, Notes Possible 'Deception'

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois appeals court has reversed a directed verdict entered in favor of an insulation supplier that two weeks prior to trial claimed it neither used asbestos-containing material nor sold it to the company where the plaintiff was employed. Caruso v. M&O Insulation Company, et al., No. 4-03-0149 (Ill. Ct. App., Fourth Dist.).

In a decision released Dec. 29, the Illinois Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court erred when it disregarded testimony contradicting claims that defendant M&O Insulation may have sold asbestos-containing materials to plaintiff Antonio Caruso's employer when the supply firm began …