Whisnant asbestos case may receive new trial

Texas - The Whisnant Vs DuPont case may be back to square one, as Judge Donald Floyd has agreed that the case should be retried. During February and March, the jury in a six-week asbestos trial listened to plaintiff claims that Willis Whisnant had developed mesothelioma as a result of negligence on the part of contractual employer DuPont. The jury decided in favor of the defendant. Now, the plaintiff’s attorney, Glen Morgan, is asking that the verdict be set aside and a new trial granted. The case was filed by Caryl Richardson representing the estate of Willis Whisnant, who died in 1999 at 72, after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. During the trial, the jury heard that Whisnant had been a B.F. Shaw pipefitter in 1966 and had been contracted to work at DuPont. The plaintiff attorney argued that Whisnant had negligently and maliciously been exposed to asbestos. However, on March 25 the jury returned their verdict, which effectively found that DuPont was not guilty of negligence. Plaintiff attorney Glen Morgan subsequently filed a Plaintiff’s Motion for a New Trial, stating that the jury’s decision was “contrary to the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence.” The sixteen-page motion argued that the jury may have been unduly influenced by an online and print publication, “The Southeast Texas Record,” which publishes articles about local court events. Morgan claimed that the newspaper, which is owned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, deliberately publishes “anti-plaintiff propaganda,” and that articles about the Whisnant trial which were clearly favorable to DuPont may have contributed to the jury’s decision. The plaintiff’s attorney cited a specific instance in which the Southeast Texas Record described evidence that presiding Judge Floyd had ruled was not admissible. Morgan argued that any juror reading that article would have learned information that had been excluded from the trial, and may have been unduly influenced to decide in favor of DuPont as a result. DuPont defense attorney M.C. Carrington defended the jury’s verdict, saying that “…the jury had every reason to reach the decision that they did. There is not any way that the court will find that there is insufficient evidence to support the jury finding.” Carrington also said that there was not enough evidence to determine whether or not the jury was unduly influenced by The Southeast Texas Record’s coverage of the trial. Judge Donald Floyd evidently agrees with Glen Morgan, but in his two-paragraph decision, the judge did not give any reason for his ruling. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)