Fitzgerald
A mesothelioma suit brought against Union Carbide Corp. and other defendants settled Tuesday even as prospective jurors occupied seats in Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder's courtroom.
Attorneys for plaintiff Roseanne Robinette and the defendants announced the settlement after a brief break in the afternoon's voir dire around 3:30 p.m.
Roseanne Robinette became the plaintiff in the suit filed in February after her husband, James Robinette, died earlier this year.
Gerald Fitzgerald of the O'Brien Law Firm in St. Louis represents Roseanne Robinette.
James Robinette originally filed suit against Union Carbide, Crane Co., A.W. Chesterton Inc. and various other manufacturers, claiming that he developed mesothelioma after years of working with pipes, insulation and other materials that contained asbestos fibers.
The Odessa, Mo. native was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2009.
The suit sought damages in excess of $75,000 and costs per each of its four counts.
A number of defendants in the case were dismissed from the suit prior to Tuesday's voir dire.
Currently, the case file lists Union Carbide, Anderson Greenwood & Company, API Heat Transfer Inc., Bondex International Inc. and BWIP International Inc. as defendants still in the case.
Union Carbide offered its trial exhibit list in the case, according to the case file.
Had the Robinette suit gone to trial, it would have been the second asbestos case to go to a jury before Crowder this year. She assumed the asbestos docket from Circuit Judge Daniel Stack who is retiring next month.
The first asbestos case tried before Crowder in March also was a mesothelioma suit brought against a number of companies by Larry and Meta Williams.
The jury in that case found for the only remaining defendant at trial, Ford Motor Co.
Jeffrey Bash of Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen of Edwardsville represents Union Carbide. His firmmate, Kent Plotner represents Bondex.
Kevin Dreher of Morgan Lewis & Bockius of Chicago represents Anderson Greenwood.
J. Hayes Ryan of Gordon & Rees of Chicago represents API.
Cameron Turner of Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney Ltd. of Chicago represents BWIP.
The case is Madison case number 10-L-180.