A Mesothelioma and Asbestos Information and Treatment Center Resource
"Judge Refuses to Table Asbestos Suits"
May 10, 2004
A Texas judge denied requests from companies being sued for asbestos poisoning that he create a separate docket to deal strictly with cases involving ill plaintiffs. State District Judge Mark Davidson informed the more than 100 lawyers who filled his courtroom that creating a docket for the "unimpaired" would be a violation of the Texas Constitution.
"At some point in the future, the number of cases filed which could qualify for assignment to an unimpaired docket could result in a denial of right to court access in other cases in which impairment is agreed to exist," Davidson wrote. "It cannot be said that this is the case at this time for cases filed since September 1, 2003."
The ruling will apply only to cases filed since September 1 of last year. Over 300 asbestos cases have been transferred to Davidson's court.
The defendant companies argue that a separate docket would prioritize cases involving seriously ill plaintiffs. Persons placed on the inactive docket would maintain their legal cases, but their lawsuits would not proceed until they had developed asbestos-related sicknesses. The defendant companies include DuPont, General Electric, Dow Chemical, Union Carbide and CenterPoint Energy.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said that any delays deny their clients' constitutional access to the courts and a trial by jury.
Judge Davidson informed the defendants' attorneys that they could request an order from the Texas Supreme Court that would oblige him to make the separate dockets.
"We are going to take him up on that invitation," said Scott Wheeler, spokesman for Union Carbide Corp. "He is clearly seeking clarification that he has legal authority to create this unimpaired docket."
More than 600,000 asbestos-related lawsuits have been filed nationwide, many by people who have not developed symptoms of asbestos-related illness. About a third of those cases were filed in Texas.
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