NEW YORK — A New York jury on March 22 awarded $37 million in the first phase of a consolidated, bifurcated trial in which two cigarette smokers allege that exposure to asbestos caused them to develop lung cancer (Robert Lettiere, Edward Martin, et al. v. Robert A. Keasbey, Nos. 109516/01, 113583/05, 100016/99, N.Y. Sup.).
Edward Martin, an insulator, and Robert Lettiere, a boilermaker/steam fitter, alleged that they were exposed to asbestos in powerhouses by the negligent conduct of Robert A. Keasbey. Lettiere originally filed a claim for asbestosis but amended his complaint after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in June 2005.
At trial, Keasbey argued that the men’s lung cancers were cigarette smoking-related and that they were not exposed to significant enough doses of asbestos to cause lung cancer.
But on March 22, after phase I of the reverse-bifurcated trial, the jury returned an $11 million award for Robert Lettiere for pain and suffering.
At the same time, the jury returned $26 million for Edward Martin and his wife, Bonita, including $18 million for pain and suffering; $942,850 in economic damages to Bonita Martin; $9,063 in economic damages to Edward Martin, and a loss of consortium award of $7 million.
Sources told Mealey Publications that Phase II should begin April 23, 2007. Judge Shirley W. Kornreich is presiding over the trial.
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