Calif. Appellate Court Reverses $5 Million Judgment, Cites Improper Jury Instructions

LOS ANGELES –– A California appellate court has reversed a more than $5 million judgment entered against Weil-McLain in an asbestos case, agreeing with the defendant that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on the causation standard.

In the June 4 decision, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One, found that the trial court should have instructed jurors on the causation standard under Michigan law, not the “more lax” California standard.

“The jury in this matter was repeatedly told that any exposure to asbestos was sufficient to increase a person’s risk of mesothelioma, and that to find …