Pa. couple sues 103 companies for asbestosis

CHARLESTON -- A Zelienople, Pa., couple is suing 103 companies they claim are responsible for an asbestosis diagnosis.

Jeffrey Pandocchi was diagnosed with asbestosis on Dec. 8, 2009, according to a complaint filed May 11 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Pandocchi claims he was exposed to asbestos and asbestos products during the course of his employment with the defendants.

The defendants failed to warn Pandocchi of the asbestos-containing products and failed to warn him of the harm the products could do, according to the suit.

Pandocchi claims the defendants also failed to recommend methods to improve the work environment and failed to develop alternative products that did not contain asbestos.

The defendants "continued to use a known cancer-causing product," according to the suit.

Pandocchi and his wife, Kathryn Pandocchi, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are being represented by Brian A. Prim.

The case has been assigned to a visiting judge.

The 103 defendants named in the suit are A.O. Smith Corporation; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Allegheny Energy, Inc., F/K/A Allegheny Power; Allied Glove Corporation; American Electric Power Company, Inc.; American Optical Corporation; Appalachian Power Company; Aqua-Chem, Inc., Cleaver-Brooks Division; Armstrong International, Inc.; Armstrong Pumps, Inc.; Atlas Industries, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Beazer East, Inc.; Brand Insulations, Inc., a Subsidiary of WMX Technologies, Inc.; Buckeye Power, Inc.; Cardinal Operating Co.; Cashco, Inc.; Catalytic Construction Company; CBS Corporation; Columbus McKinnon; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Co.; Crown Cork & Seal Company; Dezurik, Inc.; Dravo Corporation; Durametallic Corporation; Eaton Corporation; Electrolux Home Products; F.B. Wright Company; Fairmont Supply; Flowserve Corporation; FMC Corporation, Individually And On Behalf Of Its Former, Peerless Pumps; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Corporation; General Electric Company; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Greene Tweed & Company; Grinnell Corporation; Hedman Resources Limited; Honeywell, Inc; Honeywell International, Inc., Formerly Known As Allied Signal, Inc. As Successor In Interest to the Bendix Corporation; Hunter Sales Corporation; IMO Industries, Inc.; I.U. North America, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation, F/K/A ITT Industries; J.H. France Refractories Company; J.M. Foster, Inc.; Joy Technologies; M.S. Jacobs & Associates, Inc.; Mallinckrodt Group, Inc.; Marley Cooling Tower; McCann Shields Paint Company; McCarls, Inc.; McJunkin Red Man Corporation; Met-Pro Corporation And Its Dean Pump Division; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, A/K/A Metropolitan Insurance Company; Milton Roy Company; Milwaukee Valve Company; Mine Safety Appliance Company; Minnotte Contracting Corporation; Monongahela Power Company; Morgan Engineering, In Its Own Right, A Successor In Interest To Alliance Machine Company; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company, And Its Division Ferro Engineering; Ohio Power; Ohio Valley Insulating Company; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Pennsylvania SN, Inc.; Plotkin Brothers Supply, LLP; Powell Valve Company; Power Piping; Premier Refractories, Inc.; Reading Crane & Engineering Co.; Riley Stoker Corporation; Safety First Industries, Inc.; Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc.; Sealite, Inc.; Spirax Sarco, Inc.; Square D Company; Stockham Valves & Fittings; Tasco Insulation, Inc.; the Sager Corporation; Thiem Corporation; Townsend & Bottum, Inc.; Treco Construction Services, Inc.; Tyco Flow Control Company, LLC; UB West Virginia , Inc.; Unifrax Corporation; Union Carbide Corporation; United Conveyor Corporation; United States Steel Corporation; Vimasco Corporation; Virginia Electric And Power Company, Inc.; Washington Group International; Whiting Corporation; WMX Technologies, Inc.; and Yarway Corporation.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 11-C-768