Cases

Plaintiff claimed take-home asbestos injury from his father’s job at GMSR’s client, a water utility, where the father occasionally cut asbestos pipe.  The jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages.  The trial court struck the punitive damages on the ground that there was no evidence that an officer, director, or managing agent consciously disregarded the risk.  Plaintiff appealed the judgment notwithstanding the verdict on punitive damages.  Agreeing with GMSR’s client, the Court of Appeal affirmed the JNOV, finding that there was no evidence that the utility’s management actually knew of the risk to the safety of its employees or their families or that any officer, director, or managing agent knew what safety measures were or were not being taken in the field.

Court of Appeal Opinion – View Document