Attorneys, judges, academics, medical professionals and in-house counsel gathered in San Francisco Sept. 27 to 29, 2009, to discuss the state of asbestos litigation at HB Litigation Conferences' National Asbestos Litigation Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel. Below are 14 video highlights from the conference, chaired by Joseph J. O’Hara of Owens-Illinois, Inc., Joseph Belluck of Belluck & Fox LLP and Michael J. Pietrykowski of Gordon & Rees LLP. The videos range from 2:12 to 5:51 minutes. In them:

• Shook Hardy & Bacon’s Mark Behrens says asbestos trusts will dominate the public debate over asbestos for the next several years.
• Co-chair Belluck, who couldn’t attend because of illness, phones in his thoughts on asbestos trusts.  
• Robert Gordon of Weitz & Luxenberg takes issue with other speakers’ reports on the dollar amounts being paid to plaintiffs. He says payment are not increasing, but dwindling.
• Larry Haden, president of the Claims Resolution Management Corporation, emphasizes that the CRMC does not make policy — the asbestos trusts make policy. He addresses processing of claims at the Manville Trust, TDPs, individual evaluations and foreign claims.
• Eliot Jubelirer of Schiff Hardin LLP says the asbestos trust system and tort system are two ships passing in the night and calls for transparency in the trust system.
• Judge Mark Davidson of Houston says there is a risk of routine forcing of settlements, but clarifies that he does NOT, of course, oppose settlement.
• Retired Judge Ken Kawaichi, now with JAMS and an asbestos trustee himself, says with regard to requests for information from the trust that he would obey any court order for information. Judge James McBride of San Francisco says the issue of payments from the trusts just doesn’t play a role in the resolution of claims before him. And Judge Richard Alusi of New York says that in the event it comes up post-trial that a claim has been paid, he would consider trust payments as collateral source offsets to the verdict.
• Colin Kelly of Alston & Bird discusses retrospective dose calculation in the context of industrial hygiene. He defends claims that it’s junk science.
• Peter Kraus of Waters & Kraus discusses approximate doses and the Texas Supreme Court’s Borg Warner decision, which requires specific evidence of exposure as a substantial factor in causing the disease before getting to a jury.
• Francis McGovern, professor of Law at Duke University School of Law, responds to an audience question about estimating what a trust will pay.
• AAJ advisor Randy Rabinowitz expresses hope that the Obama administration will be more sympathetic to the interests of asbestos victims than the Bush administration.
• Robert Rich of Gordon & Rees, argues that there is — despite reports — no new evidence linking asbestos exposure to ovarian cancer. In a separate clip, Rich talks about what he believes is a connection between the 40th Simeon Virus, or SV40, and mesothelioma.  
• Nicholas Vari of K&L Gates looks for mid-point in the controversy over recoveries from trusts.

Those who didn’t attend can watch or listen to all but two of the sessions — and get all of the written materials — by purchasing HB’s Video Package or Audio Package. Click HERE for details.

HB Litigation Conferences LLC, formerly Mealey’s Conferences, is a leading provider of legal education conferences, teleconferences and multimedia content covering insurance, reinsurance, toxic torts, products liability, construction defects, and complex commercial and financial litigation. It is an independent provider whose goal is to create premium networking and educational events for attorneys and executives.

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