Will benzene litigation replace asbestos as the new legal cause celebre?
A defendant’s perspective. This Paper was co-authored by Robert McDonnell of McLarens Young and Robert Gilmartin of Clausen Miller Attorneys, and appeared in The National Underwriter There is no argument that asbestos has been a monetary gold mine for the plaintiff’s bar across the United States, particularly in certain geographic areas, for the past 20 plus years. The first asbestos lawsuit was filed in Beaumont, Texas, in 1966, and to date judgments have been delivered exceeding 70 billion dollars. However, this particular gold mine may be finally tapping out. The number of plaintiffs is falling off, and the number of new cases being filed nationwide is starting to dwindle. The count of possible defendants has been substantially reduced by bankruptcy caused by asbestos litigation. Now the plaintiff’s bar is looking for a “new” litigation hot-button issue. At one time it was thought that silica would be that new issue, but recent court rulings, particularly in Texas, indicating that a
