Jury's Allocation of Fault to U.S. Navy Wasn't Error, Appeals Court Holds

SAN FRANCISCO - A California appeals court has upheld a trial court's decision that allowed jurors to allocate liability to the United States Navy in an asbestos case, despite the fact that the Navy was immune from liability and never named as a defendant in the suit. Taylor v. John Crane, Inc., No. A098587 (Calif. Ct. App., First Dist.).

The First District Court of Appeal on Nov. 26 affirmed the ruling, which had been challenged by plaintiff Susan Taylor after jurors awarded her nearly $3 million for injuries sustained by her husband, David, a former Navy machinist who succumbed to …