Exxon-Mobil Found Partly Liable for $4.3 Million Premises Award

SAN FRANCISCO - Exxon-Mobil Corp. has been found partly liable for a pipefitter's asbestos-related lung cancer, which he developed after two years of exposure at one of the company's California refineries. Smith v. Mobil Oil Corp., No. 315105 (Calif. Super. Ct., San Francisco Cty.).

On May 24, a San Francisco jury awarded George Smith and his wife, Hanna, $4.3 million in compensatory damages. For Exxon-Mobil's role in the injury, the jury found the company 12.5 percent responsible for the damages.

The Smiths sued Exxon-Mobil and several others in September 2000 after George Smith, a lifetime non-smoker, was diagnosed with lung …