NEW YORK — (Mealey’s) The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 26 affirmed a $104.6 million methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) contamination verdict for New York City against Exxon Mobil Corp., finding in part that the state tort verdict is not preempted by the Clean Air Act ( In Re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether [MTBE] Products Liability Litigation , Nos. 10-4135 and 10-4329, 2nd Cir.). ( Opinion...

NEW YORK — (Mealey’s) A New York County jury on July 23 awarded $190 million to plaintiffs in five asbestos cases consolidated for trial, sources told Mealey Publications ( Santo Assenzio v. A.O. Smith Water Products , Robert Brunck v A.O. Smith Water Products , Paul Levy v. A.O. Smith Water Products , Cesar Serna v A.O. Smith Water Products , Raymond Vincent v. A.O. Smith Water Products , Nos.190008/12, 190026...

The year 2012 saw growing controversy over the cost and the effectiveness of the 2007 reforms to the Workers’ Compensation Law. The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board requested an 11.5% increase in premium rates which it ascribed to the increase in workers’ compensation indemnity rates without corresponding savings from implementation of the durational caps. In response, the Commissioner of Financial...