Appeal on Mass Asbestos Trial Rejected

The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a Virginia court order that consolidated about 1,300 asbestos product-liability claims into one trial.

One defendant, privately held Hopeman Bros. Inc. of Waynesboro, Va., appealed, arguing that a single mass trial would be unfair and would violate constitutional due process rights.

The high court rejected the appeal without comment.

In October, the Supreme Court rejected a similar appeal by companies that said a massive West Virginia asbestos trial would violate fundamental fairness.

The Virginia case involved more than 35 defendants initially, including manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, independent contractors and insurance carriers.

The claims alleged that workers from security guards to welders were exposed to asbestos at Newport News Shipyard & Drydock Co.

Among the remaining 10 defendants are Amchem Products Inc.; Dow Chemical Co.’s Union Carbide unit; Combustion Engineering, a unit of Swiss firm ABB; S.B. Decking Inc.; Mallickrodt Inc.; C.E. Thurston & Sons Inc.; and Hopeman.

Several groups supported the appeal, including the Chamber of Commerce, the National Assn. of Manufacturers, the American Tort Reform Assn. and the Coalition for Asbestos Justice.