The Cook Group

$5,504

Products Liability

Missouri Court of Appeals reduced a jury award against Johnson & Johnson and JJCI from $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.4 billion in punitive damages. The reduction was based on lack of specific personal jurisdiction over non-resident plaintiffs for certain products and over the parent company (Johnson & Johnson) for claims related to its subsidiary (JJCI).

$9

Toxic Torts

Florida 11th Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County vacated a $9 million jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson in an asbestos-talcum powder case, ordering a new trial on damages. The court found the jury's award for economic damages was excessive and disregarded evidence.

$3

Toxic Torts

Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court reversed a $3.2 million asbestos jury verdict against Tremco, Inc. in Krumwiede v. Tremco, finding insufficient evidence of causation. The plaintiff failed to prove that the product released breathable asbestos fibers in amounts that caused more than de minimis exposure.

Civil Litigation

Complete defense verdict for two national service companies in a three-day jury trial in Jackson County, Missouri. Plaintiffs alleged negligent misrepresentation, fraud, negligence, and MMPA violations related to a moisture treatment system.

Toxic Torts

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a Palm County Circuit Court’s final judgment granting summary judgment for five defendants on causation in an asbestos/chemical exposure case. The court found the plaintiff's benzene exposure constituted a 'small fraction' of his lifetime exposure, not enough to establish causation under Florida's standard.

Constitutional Law

Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared a jurisdiction-by-registration statute unconstitutional in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company, a major victory for out-of-state businesses. The ruling aligns Pennsylvania jurisdictional law with US Supreme Court due process decisions, limiting general personal jurisdiction over foreign corporations to where they are 'at home.'