St. Albans couple names 62 companies in asbestos case

CHARLESTON -- A St. Albans man and his wife are suing 63 companies in their asbestos-related case after he developed asbestosis.

Dwight R. Harless was diagnosed with usual interstitial pneumonitis and asbestosis on Oct. 23, 2009, according to a complaint filed June 17 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Harless claims he smoked one-half pack of cigarettes per day from 1974 until 2008, but has since quit.

The defendants are being sued for negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit.

Harless and his wife, Carol Harless are seeking a jury trial to resolve all issues involved in their suit. They are being represented by James M. Barber and Victoria Antion.

The case has been assigned to a visiting judge.

The 63 defendants named in the suit are 3M Company; A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; American Electric Power Service Corporation; American Electric Power; Appalachian Power Company; Aurora Pump Company; Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc.; Bayer Corporation; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; BW IP, Inc.; Cameron International Corporation; Carrier Corporation; Certainteed Corporation; Chicago Pump Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Co.; Dow Chemical Company; Dravo Corporation; E. I. DuPont de Nemours; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc., f/k/a Durco International, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Goulds Pumps; Hercules, Inc.; Honeywell International, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; Lennox Industries, Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mobay Chemical Corporation; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Power Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Rapid American Corporation; Rheem Manufacturing Company; Rhone-Poulenc AG Company, Inc.; Riley Power, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Shell Oil Company; Scheider Electric USA, Inc.; Sterling Fluid Systems (US), LLC; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; Team Industrial Services, Inc.; the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Trane U.S., Inc.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 10-C-1080