News & Resources

On April 3, 2012, the Supreme Court of Ohio reversed the appellate court decision that had ruled that Judges Hanna and Spellacy were correct in denying our motion to dismiss Sager Corporation, a dissolved Illinois corporation, in which we had argued that a dissolved foreign corporation was no longer amenable to asbestos suits in Ohio. The Supreme Court of Ohio agreed with our position that the law of the state of incorporation controls and must be afforded full faith and credit, and concluded that asbestos claims filed against an Illinois corporation more than five years after dissolution are barred. We had previously eliminated all pending claims against Sager in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania, based on the Illinois corporate dissolution defense, and this ruling keeps our record intact as we proceed across the country in the effort to eliminate all claims against this insured. Read More »

On March 29, 2012, Madison County Associate Judge Clarence Harrison entered an order terminating the court’s 2013 advance setting of asbestos trial weeks. “The Court finds no continuing need for the pre-assignment of trial settings.” The order is effective immediately. The standard jury trial week calendar will be used going forward, and cases will be set by motion on a case-by-case basis. Read More »

The Illinois Appellate Court issued its opinion March 1, 2012 on the issue of whether or not volunteered flight instruction of a pilot constituted “educational malpractice” and therefore should not be a viable cause of action in Illinois. Waugh v. Morgan Stanley, et al., 2012 IL App (1st) 102653 (PDF link opens in a new window). The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s sweeping decision that granted summary judgment on every negligence claim that used the term “instruct” or “train.” Justice Pucinski wrote a dissent, agreeing with our position that claims of ordinary negligence were improperly miscategorized as “educational malpractice,” and stated a question of fact remained that warrants reversal.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 23, 2011 that generic drug companies cannot be sued under state law over allegations that they failed to provide adequate label warnings about potential side effects. By a 5-4 vote, the justices ruled in favor of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Mylan Inc.’s UDL Laboratories and Iceland-based Actavis Inc. by overturning U.S. appeals court rulings that allowed such lawsuits.

The companies argued that federal law barred such lawsuits because the drug had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Federal law requires generic drugs to have the same labels as their brand name equivalents. Justice Clarence Thomas in the court’s majority opinion agreed. He said federal drug regulations applicable to generic drug manufacturers directly conflicted with and thus pre-empted state lawsuits.

On January 26, 2011, Judge Crowder entered a new Case Management Order governing asbestos litigation in Madison County, the first comprehensive change in seven years. Plaintiffs’ firms are now limited to 19 cases per trial slot. (Previously the limit was 24 cases.) For an analysis of the changes affecting the defense of these cases, or if you would like to receive a copy of the order, contact Ed Matushek.

In affirming the entry of summary judgment we obtained on behalf of our client, the Illinois Appellate Court rejected an asbestos plaintiff’s attempt to extend a duty in a premises liability case to a person who had no contact with the premises, but claimed injury from household exposure to asbestos fibers brought home on work clothes worn by a worker at our client’s premises. Nelson v. Aurora Equipment Company, 909 N.E.2d 931 (2d Dist. 2009). Read More »