Law and Justice

Posts Tagged ‘Decided’

Divorce cases, no matter how cut-and-dry they may seem, can sometimes take a long time to get through the court systems and finalize.  A number of factors may predetermine the length of the divorce case, but if you and your ex-wife cannot make agreements on anything, you can plan on the case going to trial and being decided by a judge.  But what exactly does the judge make decisions on?

The judge in divorce court will first address the division of property.  This means property, material goods, assets, etcetera will be split in a fair and proper way, and will be determined by a number of issues already pending through your divorce case.

If you have children, the judge will also decide upon who gets custody of the children, develops a vague and basic parenting plan for the parents to abide by, and decides on child support payments, alimony and maintenance that may be involved.  This will typically be based on each of the spouse’s incomes and financial situations.

The judge in a divorce case has a lot to consider, and must look at every aspect of the divorce itself to come up with a plan that works and is agreeable by all parties involved.  Although the judge may not make decisions that you necessarily agree with, he is typically required to make difficult decisions on his own and will try to be as fair and non-judgmental as he can.  Remember, though, that if the judge makes a decision that you do not agree with, you can always appeal the decision in the higher courts.

With mesothelioma lawsuits, as with all areas of law, persistence is key – on both sides. Case in point: Travelers Insurance Company, the primary insurer for Johns-Manville Corporation from 1947 – 1976.    

Once the largest miner and manufacturer of asbestos and asbestos products, Johns Manville Corp. filed for bankruptcy in the 1980s, after the dangers of asbestos were exposed to the public. In the process, a trust fund was created for future victims of its asbestos products and Travelers Insurance contributed $80 million at that time. Later, in 2003 and 2004 through pressure in the courts, Travelers agreed to $500 million in settlements with several groups of plaintiffs, with the stipulation that future asbestos lawsuits would be barred. The settlement was approved in 2006.  

But last year, this settlement was overturned by a U.S. Court of Appeals on the ground that the judge who approved the settlement lacked authority to bar new lawsuits. In June of 2009, the U.S.  Supreme Court reversed this decision in a 7 – 2 vote, bringing the status of the case back to the 2006 settlement. Writing for the majority, Justice David Souter said the judge’s orders barred state civil actions against Travelers based on allegations of its own wrongdoing while acting as Johns-Manville’s insurer, due to the finality of the 1986 orders that established the bankruptcy trust fund.

In this series of lawsuits persistence was key for both the plaintiffs and the defendants. The mesothelioma settlement for several groups of plaintiffs went from $80 to $500 million – a substantial victory! At the same time the persistence from the defendants led to the barring of future litigation. Agreeing to half a billion dollars in a settlement to secure no future lawsuits was considered “worth it.”

As with any area of law, precedence is key and the precedent set by this series of litigations gives hope to victims filing their own mesothelioma lawsuit. However, it also demonstrates that once a person is diagnosed with mesothelioma, legal action must be taken quickly, since sometimes, as in this case, the court grants that further suits against the same company will be barred.  

Until a case is settled by the supreme court, it can be overturned in a court of appeals, just as this case was. Your own mesothelioma settlement will take persistence from you and an experienced attorney.