Scott Segal
CHARLESTON – A Morgan County man has filed a multi-million dollar asbestos lawsuit against 27 companies in Kanawha Circuit Court.
John E. Barker Jr. lives in Berkeley Springs and, for many years, worked as a factory laborer and truck and automobile mechanic.
In the 14-count suit, filed Dec. 8 by Pittsburgh attorney David P. Chervenick and Charleston attorney Scott Segal, Barker claims he was exposed to and did inhale asbestos dust and other dust from products of the defendants which range from local companies such as Potomac Auto Parts of Berkeley Springs to worldwide companies such as General Motors.
Barker, 58, says this exposure caused him to contract mesothelioma, resulting in disability.
Four of the counts are against a subgroup of the defendants labeled as "sellers," those companies that manufactured, supplied and/or sold the products in question. Those counts include claims of negligence, failure to properly label the products, breach of warranties and for knowing since the 1920s that asbestos was hazardous. Barker seeks an amount in excess of $1 million plus interest and the cost of the legal action on each of those counts.
Also, there are four counts filed against the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company because of documentation showing that the company knew of the dangers of asbestos as early as the 1930s and concealed that information from workers and the public. Those four counts include claims of negligence, fraud, aiding and abetting and misrepresentation. Barker seeks an amount in excess of $1 million plus interest and the cost of the legal action on each of those counts as well.
Another count seeks punitive damages in excess of $1 million for willful, wanton, malicious and reckless disregard of the safety of the plaintiff and others.
The suit says Barker has suffered serious bodily injury, great pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses, lost earnings and earning capacity and that he will continue to suffer those in the future.
Yet another count is filed on behalf of Barker's wife Linda Kay Barker. She seeks more than $1 million for loss of consortium.
Other counts in the lawsuit focus on Barker's need for medical monitoring, Owens-Illinois' liability for developing an asbestos product know as Kaylo that the company knew was hazardous and a conspiracy count against Pneumo Abex Corporation, which Barker says exposed him to unsafe working conditions where there was a "high degree of risk and strong probability of serious injury and/or death."
"Pneumo Abex Corporation, successor-in-interest to Abex Corporation, Friction Products Division, by and through their employees, permitted Barker to become exposed to airborne asbestos fibers and to inhale said fibers through his career with them when they knew of dangers," the suit claims.
Barker seeks a jury trial. The case first was assigned to Kanawha Circuit Judge Jim Stucky, but it since has been assigned to a visiting judge to be determined.
The complete list of defendants includes A&I Company; American Standard Inc.; Anchor Packing Company; Borg-Warner Corporation; Certainteed Corporation; Columbia Paint Corp. (Columbia Paint Town in Huntington); Dana Corporation; Deere & Company; Fairmont Supply Company; Ford Motor Company; Garlock Sealing Technologies; General Motors Corporation; Genuine Parts Company (NAPA Auto Parts in Nitro); Goodrich Corporation; The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Honeywell International Inc. (AlliedSignal Inc.); Ingersoll-Rand Company; Kenworth Truck Company; Mack Trucks Inc.; Maremont Exhaust Products Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mason-Dixon Auto Supply Inc. (dba Bath Auto Supply); Owens-Illinois Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Potomac Auto Parts of Berkeley Springs; Vimasco Corporation and Westinghouse Airbrake (or WABCO).
Chervenick is a partner in the law office of Goldberg, Persky & White. According to the firm's Web site, GPW has been involved in asbestos cases since 1978. Based in Pittsburgh, the firm also has offices in Johnstown and Greensburg, Penn, as well as Huntington, W.Va., and Saginaw, Mich.
Segal formed The Segal Law Firm in Charleston in 1996 after his wife Robin Davis, who was his partner in Segal and Davis, was elected to the state Supreme Court. He was the first West Virginia lawyer to be inducted into the Inner Circle of Advocates, which is limited to 100 of the nation's best trial lawyers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 05-C-2680