Mealey's Asbestos : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Asbestos

February 12, 2026
COMMENTARY: Examining The Value Of Bankruptcy Trust Claims Data In Asbestos Litigation

By Mary Margaret Gay and Sarah Beth Jones
February 23, 2026
Asbestos Group Says Stay Of East Wing Demo FOIA Case Too Strong

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) filed an expedited motion asking a federal judge in the District of Columbia to modify a stay of consideration of its motion for partial summary judgment in its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case seeking details about asbestos remediation efforts at the site of the White House East Wing demolition, saying the court should either set a date for responding to the motion or order the parties to agree on a briefing schedule.
February 20, 2026
Beasley Allen, J&J Battle Over Stay Of N.J. Talc MDL Disqualification

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Having been disqualified by a New Jersey appellate court from the state’s multidistrict talc litigation, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC asks the trial court not to disqualify it while it appeals a ruling finding its association with a former Johnson & Johnson lawyer improper. But in response, Johnson & Johnson entities argue that the trial court cannot ignore the appellate court’s ruling or the harm the companies will incur from having to face trial against a law firm that collaborated with one of its former attorneys.
February 20, 2026
Federal Talc MDL Parties Brief Court On Impact Of Firm’s Disqualification

TRENTON, N.J. — A trio of parties briefed a federal magistrate judge in New Jersey on the impact a state appellate court’s disqualification of a law firm would have on the consolidated asbestos-talc litigation, with Johnson & Johnson entities telling the court the state court ruling governs the case while the challenged plaintiffs’ firm urged patience while it appeals the ruling.
February 20, 2026
J&J Calls Asbestos Experts’ Amended Affidavits Untimely, Prejudicial

PORTLAND, Maine — A attempt to update three expert affidavits that would expand the asbestos exposure timeline by a decade violates court orders, would require additional discovery after the plaintiff already received three extensions and should be stricken as untimely and prejudicial, Johnson & Johnson and an affiliate told a federal judge in Maine in a motion to strike.
February 19, 2026
Restated And Disputed Complaint Alleges Only Silica, Not Asbestos, Caused Injury

NEW ORLEANS — A man who claims he developed silicosis and lung cancer because he “worked in close proximity to sandblasters” on Feb. 18 filed a second amended and restated complaint against a host of defendants, including silica miners, suppliers, insurance companies and company executives, in Louisiana federal court contending that the defendants “consciously chose” not to implement “any meaningful safety precaution.” The complaint was restated to expressly declare that the injuries in question are not related to asbestos exposure, which had been raised in a previous complaint and was the subject of debate prior to the district court’s order permitting the restated filing.
February 19, 2026
Mining Company: Recent Bankruptcy Plan Discovery Dooms Asbestos Case

NEW ORLEANS — A recently discovered plan of reorganization supports the position that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy discharged all debts and liabilities and bars an asbestos suit against an alleged successor entity, a mining company argues after a federal judge in Louisiana denied its summary judgment motion based on the document’s absence. The plaintiffs moved for contempt sanctions shortly after that ruling, citing “repeated misconduct” by the defendant, including reliance on the previously missing evidence.
February 18, 2026
California Court Won’t Revive San Diego Employees’ Fear Of Asbestos Cancer Suit

SAN DIEGO — There is no evidence that San Diego concealed knowledge about employees’ potential exposure to asbestos from renovation work or that the employees faced conditions outside the normal employment relationship, a California appellate court said in an unpublished opinion affirming summary judgment in favor of San Diego and one of its officers on Feb. 17.
February 17, 2026
Oral Argument Date Set In Reinsurer’s Bid To Dismiss Decades-Old Asbestos Claims

NEW YORK — A New York federal magistrate judge scheduled oral argument for May 6 on a pending motion for summary judgment through which a U.K.-based reinsurer seeks dismissal of all claims brought by the assignee of the liquidator of an insolvent insurer; in that motion, the reinsurer argues that decades-old asbestos-related reinsurance billings are barred by New York’s statute of limitations.
February 13, 2026
4th Circuit Upholds Denial Of Stay Relief For CertainTeed Debtor’s Claimants

RICHMOND, Va. —A North Carolina federal bankruptcy judge did not abuse his discretion in denying a request by asbestos claimants to lift the automatic stay so the claimants could proceed with their state court lawsuits against CertainTeed spinoff and Chapter 11 debtor DBMP LLC, a divided Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in affirming.
February 11, 2026
Asbestos Group Seeks Early Win On East Wing Demolition FOIA Violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is no dispute that three federal agencies missed the deadline for complying with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request involving asbestos remediation efforts at the site of the East Wing demolition, and the court should order them to make a determination and produce responsive documents, an advocacy group tells a federal court in the District of Columbia.
February 10, 2026
Louisiana Judge Denies Genetic Testing In Asbestos Lung Cancer Case

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana judge denied a motion to compel production of a blood sample for genetic testing in an asbestos lung cancer case, saying there was insufficient causation evidence before the court that would warrant allowing the medical procedure.
February 10, 2026
With Experts, Wrongful Death Questions Unresolved, Judge Continues Talc Trial

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal judge in Maine granted a man’s motion to continue the trial date in his asbestos-talc suit, noting the abundance of pending motions, including ones involving experts and the availability of wrongful death damages that could impact trial planning.
February 10, 2026
Experts Can’t Fill Holes In Take-Home Asbestos Case, California Federal Judge Says

LOS ANGELES — Expert testimony does not sufficiently bridge the gap in evidence about exposure in a take-home asbestos case, but co-worker testimony about a man’s work suffices to keep a second defendant in the case, a federal judge in California said in dismissing a portion of the case.
February 10, 2026
Judge Enters $24.6M Default Judgment In Asbestos-Talc Suit

LOS ANGELES — A California judge entered a $24.6 million default judgment against talc defendant Martin Himmel Inc. after the company withdrew its representation and the court struck its answer in the case.
February 10, 2026
Plaintiff/Defense Experts Testifying Since Jan. 1, 2002

The following is a listing of plaintiff and defense experts who testified in trials covered by Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos since Jan. 1, 2002.
February 10, 2026
Appeals Court Affirms Scottish Asbestos Case Can Go Before Jury

EDINBURGH, Scotland — A Scottish asbestos case will go before a jury after an appeals court ruled that a woman’s suit was timely and could be heard by a jury rather than a judge because the statute of limitations was not at issue.
February 10, 2026
Talc Class Claims Stricken, Medical Monitoring Claim Dismissed By Judge

TRENTON, N.J. — The competing interests in a proposed class action covering both those with talc-based injuries and those seeking medical monitoring for potential future injuries cannot meet the adequacy requirements for class status, and the defects cannot be cured by dividing the two interests into subclasses, a federal judge in New Jersey said in striking class claims.
February 10, 2026
3rd Circuit Remands To Allow J&J Affiliate To Amend Suit Against Talc Study Author

PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal at the request of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) spinoff and Chapter 11 debtor and appellant Pecos River Talc LLC and remanded its fraud suit against the author of a scientific study on asbestos in talc products so the debtor can file an amended complaint in New Jersey federal court based on new evidence.
February 09, 2026
New Jersey Appeals Court Disqualifies Beasley Allen From MDL Talc Litigation

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC’s knowing collaboration on talc litigation with a former Johnson & Johnson attorney who worked on the same litigation warrants disqualifying the firm from New Jersey’s asbestos-talc multicounty litigation, a state appeals court held in a Feb. 6 opinion reversing a trial court.
February 05, 2026
Asbestos Defendants Can’t Mention Genetics Without Laying Groundwork, Judge Says

LOS ANGELES — Defendants may not speculate at trial about what role genetic mutations played in causing a man’s mesothelioma without first establishing to a reasonable degree that such mutations exist, a California judge said in granting a motion in limine.
February 05, 2026
Washington Court Won’t Review Talc Evidence Sanctions Ruling

SEATTLE — A Washington state appellate court said that while a law firm enjoyed standing to challenge an order imposing $13,200 in sanctions for failing to preserve talc samples in an asbestos case, it had not established that the ruling constituted a final judgment or included the type of error required for review.
February 03, 2026
Asbestos Case Settles After Judge Limits Reliance On Moline’s Talc Studies

OAKLAND, Calif. — A woman reached a settlement with the remaining three asbestos defendants after a California judge said she may rely on the more recent of expert Jacqueline Moline’s two articles involving alleged cases of talc-only mesothelioma to establish that mined talc can contain asbestos and that asbestos can remain even after the milling process, but not to establish the likelihood of contracting mesothelioma through cosmetic talc use.
February 02, 2026
J&J Bankruptcy Delays Don’t Give Talc Plaintiffs Standing, Judge Says

TRENTON, N.J. — Asbestos-talc litigation delays caused by the stays required by Johnson & Johson entities’ bankruptcies cannot form the basis of an injury for standing purposes, and the argument that they should is contrary to the structure and purpose of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, a federal judge in New Jersey said in an unpublished opinion granting a motion to dismiss an amended asbestos personal injury class complaint.
January 30, 2026
Assignee Opposes Bid To Dismiss Decades-Old Asbestos Reinsurance Claims

NEW YORK — The assignee of the liquidator of an insolvent insurer urged a New York federal court to deny a summary judgment motion filed by a U.K.-based reinsurer, arguing that asbestos-related reinsurance claims are not time-barred and that the reinsurer’s post-liquidation conduct, written acknowledgments and the destruction of records preclude dismissal of the reinsurance contract dispute.