Justice Rehnquist Nixes Asbestos Case Stay
By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor
NU Online News Service, Sept. 17, 12:09 p.m. EST, Washington?Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist yesterday refused to delay a West Virginia asbestos liability trial in which thousands of unrelated claims are joined into a single action.
Chief Justice Rehnquist declined, without comment, to issue the stay in the case of Mobil v. Adkins, which is being closely watched by advocates of asbestos litigation reform.
The stay was sought by Mobil Oil Company, which is the defendant in a number of asbestos exposure cases.
However, a separate petition asking the high court to review the decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia allowing the cases to be joined is still pending.
The Coalition for Asbestos Justice, which is comprised of several large insurance companies, is asking the Supreme Court to review the consolidation of the disparate claims, which is called "mass joinder," arguing that it denies the defendants due process and encourages the filing of claims by those who are not truly sick.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.