Court of Appeals Affirms $5 Million Verdict, Rejects Challenges to Jury Panel

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Louisiana appellate court has affirmed a $5 million asbestos verdict, rejecting several assignments of error asserted by the only defendant remaining at trial, including that it was prejudiced when the court allowed the trial to continue with an 11-person jury. Terrance, et al. v. The Dow Chemical Co., et al., No. 2006 CA 2234 (La. Ct. App., 1st Cir.).

In affirming the verdict, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal opined that while the award entered against Exxon Mobil was "on the high end of the general damage spectrum," it was not abusively high, as …