Court Rejects Sophisticated User Defense, Affirms New Trial for Calif. Asbestos Case

LOS ANGELES — A California Court of Appeal has reversed a trial court’s decision to enter judgment in favor of an asbestos defendant after jurors found the company liable for a portion of a nearly $10 million verdict. Rollin v. Foster Wheeler LLC, et al., No. B209935 (Calif. Ct. App., 2nd Dist.)

The Aug. 2 ruling by the Second District California Court of Appeals upends a decision granting a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict that defendant Foster Wheeler Corp. filed after jurors found the boiler manufacturer five percent responsible for the asbestos-related death of Eugene Rollin.

According to the …