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Eagle-Picher Industries Inc. v. Balbos8/29/1990
In this, the last decade of the 20th Century, our judicial system faces an apocalypse in the guise of asbestos cases. As did the "Apocalyptic beast," asbestos rose up "as from the depths of the sea," after having lain dormant for decades, to plague our industries initially and our judicial system consequentially, spreading cancer and asbestosis to thousands of workers along the way.
This 10-week case is just one of more than 8,000 asbestos cases that have been filed in Maryland since 1980. Although estimates vary, it has been reported that there are as many as 50,000 asbestos cases pending nationally. Quite apart from the sheer magnitude in numbers, asbestos litigation presents features that, unfortunately, are common to complex litigation. Most of the cases are of the multi-litigant variety, averaging as many as twenty defendants. When the multitude of cross-claims between those defendants are factored in, the complex metamorphoses into the maxi-complex. Thus, it seems quite possible that our dockets shall be visited with asbestos litigation well into the next century, each case presenting its unique yet similar tragic scenario.
The immensity of the problem has already required at least one innovative approach here in Maryland. The Court of Appeals recently added new ยง (d) to Rule 2-327 (Transfer of Action) that permits, inter alia, the transfer of "'any claims or issues' in actions to a circuit court in which the actions might have been brought and in which similar actions are pending." See 112th Report of the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, May 23, 1990.
Leslie Balbos and Sutton Knuckles are cast in the leading roles of the tragedy that here unfolds, for they were the victims of mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Cast in the roles of the transgressors are:
ACandS, Inc. -- Armstrong Contracting and Supply Company -- a Delaware corporation which has operated since 1958. ACandS installed asbestos-containing thermal insulation products and is a defendant in the Knuckles case.
Celotex Corporation -- a successor to the Philip Carey Company. Celotex manufactured and/or sold asbestos-containing pipe covering, block, and cement from 1906 to 1984 and is a defendant in both the Balbos and Knuckles cases.
Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. -- manufactured asbestos-containing insulating cement from approximately 1930 to 1971, and distributed under its own label Owens-Corning Fiberglass Hylo block and pipe covering from 1960 to 1972. Eagle-Picher is a defendant in both the Balbos and Knuckles case.
Owens-Illinois, Inc. -- manufactured and sold Kaylo brand asbestos-containing pipe covering and block insulation from 1948 to 1958 and is a defendant in the Knuckles case.
Pittsburgh Corning Corporation -- manufactured and sold "unibestos" pipe covering from 1962 to 1972. A different company manufactured and sold "unibestos" prior to 1962. Pittsburgh Corning is a defendant in the Knuckles case.
Porter Hayden Company -- installed asbestos-containing insulation products and operated in four states: Maryland,
New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina. Porter Hayden is a defendant in both the Balbos and Knuckles cases.
Decedent Leslie Balbos was employed as a sheet metal mechanic at the Fairfield Shipyard from 1942 to 1944. The Fairfield Shipyard was owned and operated by Bethlehem Steel and engaged solely in the new construction of naval ships. Mr. Balbos was diagnosed in November 1982 as having malignant mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura or lining of the lung) caused by occupational exposure to asbestos durin
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