Ill. Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Forum Motion, Says Asbestos Case Belongs in Miss.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –– Saying that the circuit court “failed to recognize several private and public interest factors in its analysis,” the Illinois Supreme Court has reversed a ruling allowing a Mississippi resident to pursue his asbestos claims against Illinois Central Railroad in Illinois.

In the Dec. 28 opinion, the high court found that the only connections between the claims and Illinois were the offices of plaintiffs’ counsel, one expert witness, and “accessible and transportable documents in the possession of defendant’s counsel.”

Walter Fennell brought the claims for his alleged exposure to asbestos, diesel exhaust, sand, environmental tobacco smoke, toxic …