On November 27, 2017, an Oakland, CA jury in Oakland, CA found Vanderbilt and Imerys negligent and strictly liable for the wrongful death of Richard Booker. Mr. Booker, who died at the age of 72 from mesothelioma, worked for decades as a paint tinter and mixer making paints.
Mesothelioma Verdict
Following a 6-week trial, the jury awarded $17.5 million in compensatory damages to the Booker family, 60% allocated to Vanderbilt, and 40% allocated to Imerys. Vanderbilt settled with the Booker family after the first phase of trial, and before the jury could assess punitive damages as to Vanderbilt. Two weeks later on December 11th, the jury awarded $4.6 million in punitive damages against Imerys. (Booker v. Imerys Talc America, Inc. and Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC, Case No. RG15796166, Superior Court of California, County of Alameda).
Kazan Law believes this is the first asbestos-containing industrial talc verdict in California against San-Jose-based Imerys Talc America, Inc. and Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.
“Vanderbilt and Imerys marketed their talc for over fifty years to the paint, ceramics, and cosmetic industries, but never disclosed that it contained asbestos,” said lead attorney Joe Satterley. “We were able to uncover their internal, confidential documents showing that they knew their talc contained asbestos, and yet sold it without any warnings. In fact, they did the opposite—they falsely assured their customers that their talc did not contain asbestos.”
At trial, Mr. Satterley showed the jury that medical doctors had found the same ingredients comprising Vanderbilt and Imerys’ asbestos-containing talc in Mr. Booker’s lung tissue. Also, the jury was shown testimony from Imerys executives proving that Imerys had re-blended its talc to try to hide the asbestos content.
This is the first time that Imerys has been found liable for punitive damages for its sale of asbestos-containing talc. Vanderbilt has previously been found liable in Kentucky, New York, and New Jersey for its marketing of asbestos-containing talc. Mr. Booker’s widow testified at trial that she and Mr. Booker chose to bring this lawsuit to prevent companies from harming workers such as her husband in the future.