Point Pleasant couple name 73 defendants in asbestos suit

CHARLESTON – A Point Pleasant couple are suing 73 defendants they claim are responsible for a lung injury.

John William Taylor was diagnosed with a lung injury on July 24, according to a complaint filed Feb. 28 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Taylor and his wife Carol claim the 73 defendants exposed him to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his career as a laborer, maintenance worker and electrician from 1955 until 1988.

John Taylor began smoking when he was 16 and smoked for approximately 25 to 30 years, but then quit, according to the suit.

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

Certain defendants are also being sued as premises owners and as John Taylor’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the suit.

The Taylors are seeking a jury trial to resolve all issues involved. They are being represented by James A. McKowen of James F. Humphreys & Associates.

The case has been assigned to a visiting judge.

The 73 defendants include A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; 3M Company; Allegheny Energy Service Corporation; American Electric Power Company, Inc.; American Electric Power Service Corporation; Appalachian Power Company; Aurora Pump Company; Beazer East; and Borg-Warner Corporation.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 13-C-420