San Francisco Jury Finds Lorillard Tobacco Company Liable in Asbestos Product Liability Case

(prHWY.com) March 9, 2011 - San Francisco, CA -- After a seven week trial against Lorillard Tobacco Company and Hollingsworth & Vose Company, a San Francisco Superior Court jury awarded nearly $1.4 million to a Placerville, Calif. couple, Don and Monica Lenney. (Case# CGC-10-275529)

The jury found that the asbestos-containing filter in the original Kent micronite cigarettes, manufactured from 1952-56, was defectively designed, releasing microscopic asbestos fibers into the lungs of smokers like Mr. Lenney.

The jury also found that the fibers released into Mr. Lenney's lungs contributed to the development of his terminal mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused lung disease.

The jury rejected the defense claims that Mr. Lenney did not actually smoke the Kent product during the pertinent years and that the filter was not defective because it either did not release any fibers or did not release enough fibers to cause disease.

This case was tried by William Levin, Laurel Simes and Timothy Pearce from the San Francisco firm of Levin Simes Kaiser & Gornick LLP on behalf of the plaintiffs, Don and Monica Lenney.

Lorillard was represented by a group of attorneys, including David Thorne of Shook Hardy & Bacon, Ricardo Cedillo of Davis Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc. Hollingsworth & Vose was represented by Randall Haimovici, also of Shook Hardy & Bacon and Andrew McElaney of Nutter McClennen & Fish.

This group of defense attorneys has been presenting these defenses in other Kent filter cases involving mesothelioma for a number of years. While Lorillard and Hollingsworth & Vose have prevailed in many of these cases, the jury did not accept their defenses in this trial.

This result is one of only a few plaintiff verdicts against Lorillard and Hollingsworth & Vose involving an asbestos Kent filter case in the past 20 years.

This verdict also follows quickly on the heels of a large verdict in Florida against Lorillard in a standard tobacco caused lung cancer case.

Levin Simes Kaiser & Gornick LLP represents individuals injured by defective products and fraudulent practices. On the Net: http://www.levinsimeskaisergornick.com.

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