Texaco Asbestos Case Survives Despite Prior Settlement

An asbestos worker’s settlement and release of asbestos-related claims against Texaco in 1997 isn’t enough to stop his suit against the company when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma 17 years later, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, ruled Aug. 29 (Matter of N.Y.C. Asbestos Litig., 2017 BL 302890, N.Y. App. Div., No. 190029/15, 8/29/17).

Mason South served for 37 years in the Merchant Marine Service, and the settlement was based on his fear of illness from exposure to asbestos-contained in Texaco products, not his subsequent mesothelioma diagnosis, the court said.

Texaco, the corporate predecessor of Chevron Corp., ...