Judge still mulling dismissal of asbestos lawsuits

By Jerry Mitchell
jmitchell@clarionledger.com

Attorneys pack the courtroom of Jefferson County Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard before a hearing on asbestos cases on Monday. Pickard told them to prepare arguments by Oct. 14.

October 5 - FAYETTE — Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard said Monday he's leaning toward ruling a certain way on a request to dismiss asbestos cases involving 8,000 people.

But he said it's still possible he could change his mind by the time a hearing is held Oct. 15.

On Monday, more than 100 lawyers crammed into Pickard's 70-seat courtroom, many of them holding legal pads or laptops. Some lawyers stood in the aisle and others sat in the jury box or on the floor.

After the judge took his place, the bailiff asked them to be seated. One lawyer responded, "Easier said than done."

Pickard decided Monday to reschedule the hearing on the matter for Oct. 15 after some lawyers complained they failed to receive notice of the matter until a few days ago, giving them insufficient time to respond to the defense motions.

The judge set an Oct. 12 deadline for briefs in the case and an Oct. 14 deadline for rebuttals to those briefs.

He suggested lawyers work together to save him reading time, he said. "If you'd like to combine your brilliance into a few briefs, it would really be good for me."

He insisted lawyers hand-deliver briefs rather than fax them because "our fax machine is also our copier and printer."

His anticipated decision comes after a shift by the state Supreme Court, which since February has ruled that out-of-state plaintiffs must be dismissed from asbestos and similar litigation and that plaintiffs in the same county must have separate trials.

"When you've got asbestos cases where two people worked at entirely different places, it makes no sense trying them together. It's like trying two car wrecks together from different parts of the state," said Jackson lawyer Marcy Croft, who represents 50 companies that have been sued.

The companies she represents are seeking dismissals or separate trials involving 8,000 people who have sued in Jefferson, Copiah or Claiborne counties, saying they've been injured by asbestos, which can scar the lungs.

In one of those lawsuits, up to 5,200 of the 5,900 alleging injuries live outside Mississippi, she said. In accordance with recent high court rulings, the 5,200 need to be dismissed and "the remaining 700 severed and sent to the right venue," she said. "That's what we're asking to happen."