PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Four separate asbestos mass tort claims were filed at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court last week, all by Keystone State plaintiffs who allege injuries as a result of exposure to the fiber.

The first claim was filed May 14 by Philadelphia attorney Steven J. Cooperstein on behalf of Catherine and James Peachey of Reedsville, Pa.

The lawsuit claims that Catherine Peachey was exposed to asbestos through her husband, who worked as a self-employed truck driver from approximately 1978 to 1996.

That exposure ultimately led Catherine Peachey to be diagnosed with mesothelioma in the spring of 2011.

The plaintiff, who smoked about a pack of cigarettes a day from 1975 to 1982, continues to be employed as a teacher at the Belleville Mennonite School near her central Pennsylvania home.

The defendants listed in the Peachey complaint are Borg Warner Corp., Carlisle Companies Inc., Certainteed Corp., E.I. Dupont Co., Foster-Wheeler Corp., General Electric Co., Maremont Corp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Napa Auto Parts, Riley Stoker Corp., The Budd Co., Union Carbide Corp., USX Corp. and CBS Corp.

The second complaint was also filed May 14, this one by Philadelphia attorney Edward M. Nass on behalf of Boothwyn, Pa. residents Edward M. Stipe and Barbara Barrowclough, co-executors of the estate of the late Edward K. Stipe.

The lawsuit states that Edward K. Stipe died in mid-October 2011 at age 88 after being diagnosed with colon cancer, for which the plaintiffs claim asbestos exposure was a factual cause.

The suit alleges that the late Stipe has been exposed to the asbestos fiber while working for Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock from 1942 to 1954.

Stipe’s employment history shows that he also worked for the Chester Water Authority from 1954 to 1988 as an installer and foreman.

The defendants named in the civil action are The Drever Group, General Electric Co., Green Tweed & Co., Hajoca Corp., Hopeman Brothers Inc., John Crane Inc., Keeler/Dorr-Oliver Boiler Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Nosroc Corp., Rapid-American Corp., SB Decking Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Corp.

The third lawsuit was filed May 16, also by attorney Nass, on behalf of David D. Trasatti of West Chester, Pa.

The suit alleges that Trasatti, 58, was exposed to asbestos while working as a mechanic from 1970 to about 1990.

That exposure, the suit claims, led to Trasatti being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in early February of this year.

Trasatti’s employment history shows he has worked as a mechanic for various companies throughout his profession.

The defendants named in the suit are Honeywell International, American Honda Motor Co., Beck/Arnley, Borg-Warner Corp., Cardone Industries, CARQUEST Corp., Dana Companies, EIS Brake Parts, Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Injury Trust, Ford Motor Co., Genuine Parts Co., Kelsey Hayes Co., Maremount Corp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Pep Boys, Standard Motor Products and Toyota Motor Sales USA.

The final of the four lawsuits was filed May 16 by Philadelphia attorney David B. Halpern, of the firm Brookman, Rosenberg, Brown & Sandler, on behalf of Erie, Pa. resident Carrie Amendola Herrmann, executrix of the estate of Patricia Amendola, and Erie, Pa. resident Paul Amendola.

Paul Amendola is the widower of his late wife, Patricia, who died in December of last year at age 72 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma the summer prior.

Patricia Amendola, who the record shows also smoked about one pack of cigarettes per day from the mid 1950s until 1985, was exposed to asbestos while providing “domestic service,” such as laundering the clothes worn by her spouse, Paul, and her son, Paul Jr.

Paul Amendola Sr. worked as a utility construction worker and installer for his own company from 1964 to 1996, and the younger Amendola has worked at the family business, Amendola Brothers, from the mid 1970s until the present.

The defendants named in the Amendola lawsuit are A.Y. McDonald Industries, AK Steel Corp., American Cast Iron and Pipe Co., Certainteed Corp., Hajoca Corp., Industrial Holdings Corp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc., Union Carbide Corp. and United States Pipe and Foundry Co.

All four lawsuits were filed in the master asbestos litigation at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court, and seek damages as set forth in the master litigation.

 

The case ID numbers are 120501033, 120501074, 120501400 and 120501544.