A mesothelioma victim in Connecticut has asked a state appeals court to dismiss Johnson & Johnson’s appeal of a $25 million asbestos verdict in his favor, arguing that the company has received five deadline extensions to file its opening brief. The company has missed each new deadline that it has been granted, while the terminally ill man faces the very real possibility of dying before the judgment is ever enforced.
Mesothelioma Victim Says J&J Delays Threaten His Chance to See Justice
Evan Plotkin is a western Massachusetts real estate developer who was exposed to asbestos through his and his children’s use of talcum powder and through art supplies he used as an artist and sculptor. After a month-long trial, a Connecticut jury awarded him $15 million in compensatory damages and found that punitive damages were warranted. One year later, Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Charles P. Reed awarded Plotkin an additional $10 million in punitive damages, bringing the total mesothelioma verdict to $25 million.
Within days of that decision, Johnson & Johnson filed an appeal, but since then has requested and received five extensions to file its opening brief, which was originally due in early February of this year. Three of the extensions were granted despite Plotkin’s direct objections, and on July 16th, J&J requested a sixth extension, one day before the most recent deadline. Plotkin has filed a motion to dismiss, and the extension has not yet been granted.
In their motion to dismiss, Plotkin’s attorneys say, “Each additional delay increases the risk that Mr. Plotkin will not see this judgment enforced during his lifetime, a consequence that reinforces, rather than substitutes for, the procedural prejudice.” They argue that J&J’s repeated extension requests contained “substantially similar justifications, increasingly padded with counsel’s deadlines in unrelated matters in other courts.” Advocates have long pointed to both the company’s serial bankruptcy filings and strategic appeals delays as postponing the day of reckoning while victims’ health declines
Many J&J Mesothelioma Verdicts Have Been Upheld on Review
J&J’s delay strategy in Mr. Plotkin’s appeal comes despite an increasing number of appellate decisions upholding mesothelioma and talc verdicts against the company. Courts have consistently affirmed jury findings when supported by the evidence, including an Illinois appeals court that recently upheld a $45 million mesothelioma verdict. Mr. Plotkin’s brief asserts, “At some point, the interests in orderly appellate administration, finality, and Mr. Plotkin’s health outweigh any further request for delay.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
