Jury Awards $1.4 Million to Auto Mechanic's Widow

DALLAS -- A Texas jury has awarded $1.4 million to the widow of a former auto mechanic after determining that the asbestos-containing brake linings that allegedly caused his mesothelioma were defective and dangerous. Hicks, et al. v. Chrysler, et al., No. 02-02236-E (Texas Dist. Ct., Dallas Ct. Ct. at Law No. 5).

In a verdict rendered Sept. 2 in the Dallas County Court at Law Number Five for Dallas County, jurors found defendants Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Companies each 10 percent liable for causing plaintiff Kenneth Hicks' death. The jury also assessed fault to eight additional product manufacturers …