$13.5 Million Mesothelioma Verdict Stands Despite Asbestos Company’s Appeal

Washington state resident Raymond Budd blames his malignant mesothelioma on the joint compound that he used while working for his father and uncle’s drywall business from 1962 to 1972. When he and his wife sued the joint compound’s manufacturer, they were awarded $13.5 million by a King County jury. Though the company appealed the verdict, the judges of the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington upheld the decision, saying that the evidence presented at trial “sufficed to sustain the jury’s verdict.”

Kaiser Gypsum Argues Against Mesothelioma Trial Decision

In its appeal of the jury’s decision, Kaiser Gypsum posed several arguments, claiming that the jury selection process in the mesothelioma trial had been insufficiently random; that expert witness testimony had been erroneously transcribed; that there was a lack of proof that their product had caused Mr. Budd’s mesothelioma; and several other technical grounds for dismissal.

In response, the mesothelioma victim’s attorneys addressed each assertion. They noted that the jury selection process had been impacted by COVID-19 protocols and that though Kaiser had challenged it at the time, the trial court had denied their argument. Mr. Budd’s attorneys noted that the company had challenged transcription records during the trial and had been twice denied, had argued that Mr. Budd would not have paid attention to warnings against the use of the product despite his providing proof that he had quit smoking once warnings appeared on cigarette packs, and that the lower court had agreed during the trial that Budd had provided sufficient evidence of the role that chrysotile asbestos plays in the development of malignant mesothelioma.

Court of Appeals Affirms Jury’s Decision

The Court of Appeals issued a thorough and detailed response to the many arguments that Kaiser Gypsum made against the jury’s decision in the mesothelioma lawsuit. In assessing each assertion, they ultimately determined that the lower court had complied with all of the requirements and applicable law, that the transcription error was harmless and would not have changed the jury’s verdict, that the evidence presented had been enough to support a finding of cause in fact, and that each of the technical issues raised had correctly been decided. The mesothelioma victim and his wife will be able to retain the $13.5 million that the jury had awarded them.