Month: August 2025

A New York asbestos court recently struck down a motion by defendants in an asbestos cancer lawsuit which has sought to dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiff was a smoker who otherwise ignored health warnings on the packages of cigarettes he smoked. In its decision, the New York Supreme Court for the County of New York soundly rejected the desperate attempt by defendants Viacom Inc. and General Electric Company to avoid liability for the alleged negligence that the plaintiff’s estate claims was directly responsible for the victim’s mesothelioma diagnosis.

An interesting company that continues to be liable for asbestos exposure is Crown Cork and Seal, which is now known as Crown Holdings, Inc. (Crown). Founded in 1892 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Crown never actually manufactured a product that contained asbestos. Rather, the acquisition of another company in the 1960s exposed Crown to the risk of potential lawsuits for asbestos-related issues that remain today. About Crown Crown has never filed for bankruptcy and, as a result, does not have an asbestos trust fund.

For purposes of this article, the mesothelioma victim in this case will be referred to as P.J.M. In a recent court decision, Justice Adam Silvera denied DAP’s motion for summary judgment despite them presenting affidavits provided by their employee. In this case, the family of P.J.M., who passed away due to mesothelioma, an illness that develops due to asbestos exposure, named DAP Inc. and others as defendants. The family blamed P.J.M.’s disease on exposure to several products that contained asbestos. DAP requested dismissal from the case by filing a motion for summary judgment.

It wasn’t until the late 20th century that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially concluded that exposure to asbestos caused certain serious diseases, including mesothelioma. As a result of this, along with the potentially long period before symptoms appear, many new cases of asbestos-related disease arise every year. At the Throneberry Law Group, we work diligently for you to obtain the resources you need in order to receive the best medical treatment available by filing a mesothelioma lawsuit.