Appeals Court: New York Asbestos Rules for Punitive Damages Can Stay in CMO

NEW YORK — A New York Appellate Court has ruled that recent court-ordered amendments to the provisions governing punitive damages and other procedural protocols in the New York City Asbestos Litigation docket do not deprive defendants of due process or other Constitutional rights.

The March 22 order from the New York Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the First Judicial Department is the most recent ruling in a long-standing dispute over changes in the asbestos docket’s existing Case Management Order pertaining to claims made to bankruptcy trusts, the creation of an accelerated docket, and reinstatement of punitive damages.

For …