Mississippi Court Rejects $322 Million Award In Asbestosis Suit After Judge Disqualified

A special judge in a Mississippi state court has thrown out the $322 million award issued in May 2011 to a former oil field worker who had alleged injuries from asbestos exposure (Brown v. Phillips 66 Co.).

During the course of the trial, Union Carbide Co., one of the defendants, discovered that it had settled asbestos claims with Trial Judge Eddie H. Bowen’s mother and father, and that Bowen’s father still had a lawsuit pending against the company.

Following the trial, Bowen was ordered by the Supreme Court of Mississippi to recuse himself from the matter.

Judge William ...