Products Liability Law Reporter
Verdicts & Settlements: Industrial Products
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Failure to warn of asbestos exposure
February 7, 2023Rita Chapman used Avon cosmetic products, including asbestos-containing body and facial powders, since she was 8 years old. When she was married, she regularly washed her husband’s work clothes. He handled asbestos-containing brakes, clutches, and gaskets on the job—including while repairing Hyster forklifts. Now 76, Chapman suffers from malignant mesothelioma. Despite immunotherapy, her tumor has damaged her left lung.
Chapman and her husband sued Avon Products, Inc., and forklift manufacturer Hyster-Yale Group, Inc., alleging negligence, strict liability design and manufacturing defect, strict liability failure to warn, and fraud.
The jury awarded $52.1 million, including $11.3 million in punitive damages, $10.3 million of which was awarded against Avon.
Citation: Chapman v. Avon Prods., Inc., No. 22STCV05968 (Cal. Super. Ct. Los Angeles Cnty. Dec. 16, 2022).
Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Jessica M. Dean and Rachel A. Gross, both of Dallas; and AAJ member Benjamin H. Adams, West Hollywood, Calif.
