Last March, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs approved a $275,000 jury award, plus interest, for mesothelioma widow Laura Walls. Walls had spent years pursuing justice on behalf of her husband Robie, who died of the disease after more than five decades of exposure to asbestos in truck brake parts. Despite three-and-a-half years of losing multiple petitions to the court before and during the trial, Ford is continuing to fight having to pay the award. The widow is asking the court to dismiss the company’s latest petition.
Five Decades of Asbestos Exposure Blamed for Mesothelioma Death
Robie Walls’ mesothelioma diagnosis came in 2018. After serving in the Navy from 1955 to 1959, he worked as a tractor-trailer fleet mechanic from 1960 to 2002 for multiple employers. In that capacity he performed maintenance on tractor-trailer brakes, clutches, and engines, which exposed him to a significant amount of asbestos-contaminated dust and debris, which he inhaled. An estimated one sixth of the work that he did over the course of five decades involved Ford trucks and their replacement brakes and clutches.
When Mrs. Walls filed a mesothelioma lawsuit against Ford and several other companies, Ford refused to settle. They filed a motion for summary judgment, as well as several motions to prevent her expert witnesses from testifying. Though they lost each of these arguments and the jury decided in her favor, the company recently filed a motion for a directed verdict based on all the same arguments that they had previously made.
Mesothelioma Widow Asks Court To Deny Ford’s Redundant Petition
After the jury awarded the mesothelioma widow $275,000 in damages plus almost $67,000 in interest in March, Ford filed a bid to overturn the verdict. The company’s motion repeats the same assertions they have made before, arguing again that asbestos-contaminated debris from their brakes should not have been viewed as the same as asbestos and asserting that specific expert witness testimony should not have been admitted.
In response, Mrs. Walls asked the judge to deny the company’s continued fight, saying that the arguments that had previously been heard should be “incorporated by reference” and noting that Ford’s current motion should be denied for the same reasons Ford’s original motions were denied.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the road to justice can be challenging. For assistance, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
