U.S. Auto Makers Lose Asbestos Claims Bid

U.S. auto makers fighting asbestos liability claims lost a battle when a federal judge rejected their bid to transfer thousands of lawsuits from state courts nationwide into a single court.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler had asked for 15,000 to 20,000 brake-related asbestos claims to be consolidated into the bankruptcy proceedings of auto parts maker Federal Mogul Corp. Auto makers were poised to argue the claims should be dismissed as a group, on grounds the claims lack scientific evidence.

But U.S. District Judge Alfred Wolin ruled that he did not have jurisdiction to make such a move, that it would hurt Federal Mogul’s bankruptcy case and that it would disrupt many asbestos claims in state courts that are nearing trial.

In another asbestos case, Honeywell International Inc. was one of three dozen companies ordered by a jury to pay the wife of a deceased brake mechanic $53.5million for failing to warn him about asbestos risks.

The award by a state jury in New York City was the largest compensatory damages for a single asbestos victim, plaintiffs’ lawyer Michael Roberts said.

Plaintiff Patricia Brown said her husband was exposed to asbestos while installing brakes covered with the fireproofing material during the 1960s and ‘70s. Stephen Brown died of asbestos-related cancer in December 2000.