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Railroaded? Why Two Libby Asbestos Victims May Never Receive an $8 Million Verdict

U.S. Ninth Circuit judges in Portland heard BNSF Railway's appeal on Tuesday aiming to overturn a 2024 $8 million verdict.
The case filed in 2021 alleges BNSF Railway operated a dusty, toxic rail yard in downtown Libby, Montana, where decades of vermiculite mining and shipping released asbestos fibers prompting federal cleanup and Superfund response.
A 2024 federal jury in Helena found BNSF Railway's yard contamination was a substantial factor and awarded each estate $4 million, but jurors declined punitive damages, finding no knowledge by the company.
More than 200 other cases remain queued while BNSF has not paid either family and a Ninth Circuit ruling could alter 210 pending cases representing 388 people.
At the heart of the appeal is the question of common carrier immunity as courts found BNSF acted like a business partner, limiting federal common carrier immunity protection.

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BNSF appeals $8M asbestos judgment in Montana contamination case

Decades after asbestos contamination was discovered in Libby, Montana, families and courts are still grappling with the health impacts. On Tuesday, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard a case, Wells & Walder vs. BNSF, that could affect hundreds of similar lawsuits.The case before the court involves the estates of Tom Wells and Joyce Walder. Both died in 2020 of mesothelioma, a fatal lung disease, after being exposed to asbestos decades …

10 days ago

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Associated Press News

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Lean Left

Why two Montana asbestos victims may never receive an $8 million judgment

Long before she joined a major legal case for asbestos victims, Joyce Walder had a bold streak, according to her sister, Judith Hemphill.

10 days ago·United States

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ABC FOX Montana

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Center

Railroaded? Why two Libby asbestos victims may never receive an $8 million verdict

BNSF Railway is appealing a 2024 jury verdict that found the company liable for the toxic conditions of its rail yard in the heart of the small town in northwest Montana.

10 days ago·Missoula, United States

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Montana Free Press

Center

Railroad giant seeks to overturn Montana asbestos liability verdict

Attorneys representing the Texas-based railway are preparing for Oct. 21 oral arguments at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the wrongful death case involving two mesothelioma victims.

10 days ago

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