TEXAS – October 7, 2009 – A Brazoria County jury has awarded the widow of Danny Puckett, an industrial engineer and oil field consultant, $1.2 million for asbestos exposure from 1975 to 1980 that lead to his malignant mesothelioma — a terminal illness that often claims its victims within 12 to 18 months of diagnosis.

The verdict, handed down on Monday, October 5, 2009, represents the first known asbestos drilling mud additive verdict in Texas. Montello, Inc. and Union Carbide – the only remaining defendants at trial – were each assessed 15-percent liability of the $1.2 million award for causing Mr. Puckett’s mesothelioma.  Oklahoma law was applied to this case.

Mr. Puckett graduated from Oklahoma State University Tech with a degree in Industrial Engineering. In 1975 until 1985, he worked for Dowell Company as a member of the cement crew. Mr. Puckett eventually worked his way up to supervisor.

Mr. Puckett testified to breathing dust from the dumping of asbestos-containing cement additives into a mixing hopper at the bulk cement facility while working for Dowell Company. He used asbestos mud additives three to four  times per week at a minimum for four to five years, and described a “continuous smokestack” of dust, to the point that one couldn’t see a street light.

Mr. Puckett started his own oil field consulting practice in the late 1990s and had planned on continuing to work well into his 60s. He was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in October 2008. He fought the disease for six months. Mr. Puckett leaves behind his wife of 23 years. He was 59-years-old.

Plaintiffs were represented by Scott L. Frost, Greg W. Lisemby, and Carrie B. Waters from the Dallas office of Waters & Kraus, LLP.

About Waters & Kraus, LLP
Waters & Kraus, LLP is a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ firm concentrating on complex product liability and personal injury/wrongful death cases, particularly asbestos-mesothelioma. In addition to toxic tort litigation, the firm’s diverse practice includes pharmaceutical product liability, negligence, elder financial abuse, class actions, and consumer product liability, as well as qui tam (whistleblower) and commercial litigation. With offices in Texas, California, and Maryland, Waters & Kraus, LLP has litigated cases in jurisdictions across the United States on behalf of individuals from all 50 states, as well as foreign governments.

— Case Fact Sheet Follows —

Haines said House Bill 1861, as proposed, would impose a filing fee increase of $23 on all court filings - except traffic summary offenses - to make up the entire gap between the current budget proposals offered by the courts and the governor, House and Senate. Haines said the PBA could not support a provision of HB 1861 that would eliminate the Legislature's responsibility to fund civil legal services by shifting funding to the users of the legal system.

"The people most in need of the justice system will suffer the harshest impact of increased court filing fees," said Haines. "The courts have never been a "user pays" service any more than the Legislature or basic elements of the executive branch are "user pays" services.

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Two former ABA leaders are taking on leadership roles in organizations promoting a better legal profession and improved laws.

Former ABA President Robert J. Grey Jr. has been appointed interim executive director of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, formed in May to promote diversity in the legal profession, according to a press release and the National Law Journal. Its members are chief legal officers and law firm managing partners.

Grey, a partner at Hunton Williams, will continue to work at the law firm part-time while he handles the interim duties at the leadership council. The group expects to hire a permanent executive director within the next six months. Gray served as ABA president from 2004 to 2005.

Meanwhile, former ABA executive director Robert A. Stein has been elected president of the Uniform Law Commission, according to a press release. Stein was the ABA’s executive director for 12 years until his resignation in 2006.

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The Lawyer-to-Lawyer Directory, which is revised every two years and published in the annual Wisconsin Lawyer Directory and is available through WisBar, allows lawyers to readily identify other lawyers who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise in specific areas of law. It includes an alphabetical listing, and a topical listing that is broken into 49 topics – from administrative/government law to worker’s compensation. The easy-to-use Out-of-State Listing facilitates finding State Bar of Wisconsin lawyers who practice in other states.

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The hearing will deal with proposed changes to the California Rules of Professional Conduct, which govern all lawyers in the state. It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Gibbons Room of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego at One Market Place.

The commission is currently focusing on eight proposed new or amended rules. The proposed changes deal with third party payers, aggregate settlements, handling client funds and property, candor to the tribunal, trial publicity, lawyers as witnesses, membership in legal services organizations and law reform activities affecting client interests.

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