St. Clair County Circuit Court bucked a national downward trend in asbestos litigation, having experienced a 50% increase in filings in 2021 compared to 2020. It went from 428 filings in 2020 to 643 last year, and retains its position as second top jurisdiction in the country.
According to a report issued Tuesday by Washington-based asbestos litigation researcher KCIC, St. Clair County's asbestos docket made up 17% of total filings in the country last year, compared to 11% in 2020.
The report also showed that Madison County Circuit Court - while it remains the number one asbestos jurisdiction in the country - experienced a 19% decrease in filings in 2021. It went from 1,201 filings in 2020 to 969 last year.
Nationwide, litigation has decreased by 16% over the last five years - from 4,463 cases in 2017 to 3,742 in 2021. However the year-over-year decrease from 2020 to 2021 was just 1% nationally, or by 2.4% among the top 15 jurisdictions.
KCIC points out that its accounting of litigation includes at least 90% of all complaints filed.
The report explains St. Clair County's increase and Madison County's decrease by lung cancer cases of Flint Law in Edwardsville and SWMW Law in St. Louis.
"While Madison filings decreased by 232 lawsuits, this decrease was almost completely offset by the 215 additional lawsuits filed in adjacent St. Clair in 2021," the report states. "The increase in St. Clair filings was attributable to an increase in lung cancer cases filed by the Flint Law Firm and SWMW Law in that jurisdiction. In 2021, the Flint Law Firm increased its total St. Clair filings from 14 to 105, of which 97% were lung cancer cases. Similarly, SWMW’s St. Clair filings rose from 33 to 199, 89% of which were lung cancer. Again, this increase in St. Clair largely offset the decrease in lung cancer cases in Madison."
The report also indicates that St. Clair County also saw an increase in non-malignant filings in 2021. In 2020, one non-malignant case was filed in St. Clair; in 2021 there were 40 cases - most filed by Menges Law.
St. Louis City Circuit Court is ranked the fifth top jurisdiction. It experienced little change from 2020 to 2021, from 197 cases to 198, respectively.
Cook Couty Circuit Court's asbestos docket ticked up 9% between 2020 and 2021, from 106 to 116, respectively.
Plaintiff firm trends
As it has for many years, the Gori firm of Edwardsville continues to be the top filer of asbestos litigation in the country. It experienced a 1.8% increase in filings between 2020 and 2021, from 596 to 607, respectively.
Notable shifts include Alton-based Simmons Hanly Conroy slipping to number three with a 29.5% decrease in filings between 2020 and 2021, from 543 to 383, respectively.
Flint Law, ranked sixth nationally, experienced a remarkable 284% increase in filings between 2020 and 2021, from 43 to 165, respectively, due to its increase in lung cancer cases in St. Clair County.
SWMW, ranked fourth, experienced a 49% increase in filings between 2020 and 2021, from 190 to 283 respectively.
"SWMW filed almost twice as many lung cancer cases in Madison County, Ill., in 2021 compared to 2020, along with an even larger increase in lung cancer cases in St. Clair," the report states.
New York-based Weitz & Luxenberg, ranked second, experienced a 3% decrease in filings between 2020 and 2021, from 400 to 388, respectively.
Other area firms on the top 15 list include Maune Raichle of St. Louis, ranked fifth, having experienced a 10% increase in filings. Napoli Shkolnik of Edwardsville, ranked ninth, experienced a 62% decrease in filings.
Other findings
While mesothelioma cases continue to account for nearly half of all asbestos complaints, there were 6% fewer in 2021 among the top 15 jurisdictions, according to KCIC.
Madison County remains the court of choice for mesothelioma claims. The court experienced a 6.3% decrease between 2020 and 2021, from 894 to 838 cases, respectively.
Cook County, ranked fourth, saw a 1.6% increase between 2020 and 2021, from 64 to 65 cases, respectively.
St. Louis City, ranked eighth, experienced a 5% increase between 2020 and 2021, from 40 to 42 cases, respectively.
Top 10 plaintiff firms based on 2021 filings
Top 10 lung cancer jurisdictions based on 2021 filings
