Asbestos Litigation Group 

When companies face asbestos litigation, they need attorneys who not only understand the judicial process, but also the history, the current legal environment and the science related to asbestos specifically. Attorneys in the Litigation and Appellate groups of Bose McKinney & Evans have hands-on experience in developing litigation strategies, preparing clients for trial and arguing before the Courts in asbestos cases.

• Anglo American South Africa Limited
• Coca-Cola Enterprises
• Davis Homes
• Owens Corning Fiberglass Corp.
• Pechiney Plastic Packaging
• PepsiCo, Inc.
• Quaker Oats
• Sargent & Lundy
• Stokley-Van Camp
• Teepak

Indiana Legal Foundation Brief
In 2002, the Indiana Legal Foundation, which monitors court decisions having public policy implications for business, felt compelled to write a brief on asbestos cases pending before the Indiana Supreme Court. Bose McKinney & Evans was selected to write the brief on behalf of the board.

With the experience of our attorneys in previous asbestos cases in Indiana, the active participation of George Purdy on the Foundation’s Legal Advisory Committee and the firm’s involvement in the pending Indiana Supreme Court cases, Bose McKinney & Evans was the natural choice to prepare the Indiana Legal Foundation brief.

Harris v. Owens Corning Fiberglass Corporation
In late 1996, the attorneys of Bose McKinney & Evans successfully obtained a favorable judgment for Owens Corning from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Seventh Circuit Court affirmed an earlier decision from a lower court that the plaintiff had not produced sufficient evidence to prove that the Owens Corning product had caused Harris’ illness. In 1997, Harris petitioned the Court for a rehearing, but the request was denied.

Owens Corning Fiberglass Corp. v. Cobb
In 2001, the Bose McKinney & Evans Appellate Group obtained a reversal by the Indiana Supreme Court of a $15.67 million judgment against Owens Corning in favor of an individual who may have worked with asbestos in the 1940s and 1950s. With the help of Bose McKinney & Evans attorneys, Owens Corning appealed, and eventually the case progressed to the Indiana Supreme Court, the first asbestos case to do so after a jury trial. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment, upholding Bose McKinney & Evans’ claim that the judgment did not properly reflect that the other companies the individual worked for had already made settlement payments to him, a fact withheld from the jury. This omission led to the misimpression that only Owens Corning asbestos could have caused injury.

Allied Signal, et al v. Shirley Ott
In 2003, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the Superior Court decision denying Allied Signal’s motion for summary judgment. The Court determined the legislation in question was unambiguous and the obvious meaning could not be enlarged or restricted; in other words, the legislation holds liable those who mined and sold asbestos.