More and more plaintiffs suffering from asbestos related diseases, or their families, have been flocking to California since 2000 where they think the jury verdicts will be much larger and the laws are more favorable to their cases.
However, to prevent their cases being thrown out of court they have to have one or more defendants in the lawsuit who are based in California. The courts have now ruled that if it can be proved that the California defendant really has nothing to do with the case then the case cannot be heard in California. The ruling was issued in the case of David v. Medtronic, Inc., when the only connection to the state was a local physician and the 36 plaintiffs lived out of state and named Medtronic and Wyeth companies, none of which were in state either. The court dismissed the claim and the dismissal was upheld on appeal.
Although this was not an asbestos case, David will have a major impact on asbestos litigation, in which individual cases frequently have many defendants, with only a few being subject to jurisdiction in California. The David decision takes away from plaintiffs a means to have cases tried in California which are not connected with the state.
If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP at (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.
