Asbestos suit names 47 defendants

CHARLESTON - Charleston attorney Cindy Kiblinger has filed an asbestos suit on behalf of a man who is ill because of asbestos dust he was exposed to while working.

Kiblinger filed the suit April 11 in Kanawha Circuit Court, on behalf of Paul and Evelyn Runion. The suit names 47 companies as defendants.

According to the suit, Paul Runion was exposed to asbestos dust and other harmful dusts as a result of the products of the defendants.

The nine-count suit specifically mentions Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, a corporation that produced dust masks Runion used. The suit says the masks were marketed as something that would protect the workers from ill effects of breathing dusts and fumes.

However, Runion claims the masks did not fully protect him and caused him to develop a severe asbestos-related disease.

Paul and Evelyn Runion seek damages to fully compensate them for their injuries, as well as punitive damages.

The case has been assigned to a visiting judge.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number 07-C-707