Francisco Herrera, et al. v. Certainteed Corporation, et al.

Summary

An Arizona state court jury has delivered a defense verdict in favor of CertainTeed Corp. in an asbestos lawsuit, finding that the building materials company is not responsible for the death of a pipefitter whose family claimed he developed cancer after years of inhaling dust generated by sawing asbestos cement pipes.

The jury returned the verdict on February 1 after roughly three hours of deliberation following a trial that began on January 9. They rejected allegations from Francisco Herreras wife and three adult children that CertainTeed knew their asbestos-containing cement pipes posed a health risk but failed to adequately warn workers.

Click here for more in-depth coverage via the CVN News Blog.

Outcome

Verdict for the defense

Playlists

Non-Talc Asbestos: Closings on Causation

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Herrera, Francisco
Defense: Certainteed Corporation

Judge: Dawn Bergin
Jurisdiction: Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County
Court: East Court Building

Case Number: CV2014-009632
Industry: Manufacturing
Practice Area: Asbestos, Mass Torts, Products Liability

Plaintiff

Herrera, Francisco

Defense

Certainteed Corporation

Represented By:
Suddleson, Todd (DeHay & Elliston, L.L.P)
Ross, Valerie (Schiff Hardin LLP )

Sessions

Attorney
Witness
Witness Expertise
Type
Description

PM Session

Openings

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:17:06	Opening Statement	Chester-Schindler, Susannah
00:56:11	Break
01:13:41	Opening Statement	Suddleson, Todd
01:53:01	Opening Statement
02:13:54	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

2 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Passmore, William	In Person
00:33:11	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Passmore, William	In Person
00:38:28	Witness Direct Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Herrera, Francisco Jr.	In Person
01:05:16	Witness Cross Examination	Ross, Valerie	Herrera, Francisco Jr.	In Person
01:06:10	Break
01:27:22	Witness Direct Examination	Mittal, Rajeev	Herrera, Monica	In Person
01:50:46	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Herrera, Irene	In Person
02:14:18	Witness Cross Examination	Ross, Valerie	Herrera, Irene	In Person
02:26:46	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Freund , Charles	Video Recording
02:48:30	End of Session

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Passmore, William	In Person
00:15:21	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Passmore, William	In Person
00:27:44	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Freund , Charles		Video Recording
00:47:54	Witness Direct Examination	Mittal, Rajeev	Herrera, Susan		In Person
01:19:08	Break
01:46:15	Witness Direct Examination	Mittal, Rajeev	Johnson, Robert	Economics & Accounting	In Person
02:24:59	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Mittal, Rajeev	Johnson, Robert	Economics & Accounting	In Person
00:01:11	Witness Cross Examination	Ross, Valerie	Johnson, Robert	Economics & Accounting	In Person
00:49:54	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Milburn, Tom		In Person
01:08:47	Break
01:29:13	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Milburn, Tom		In Person
01:45:36	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Milburn, Tom		In Person
02:10:22	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Milburn, Tom		In Person
02:14:47	General Case Activities		Milburn, Tom		In Person
02:16:54	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Brodkin, Dr. Carl M.D.	Public Health & Safety	In Person
01:12:44	Break
01:36:29	General Case Activities
01:40:05	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Brodkin, Dr. Carl M.D.	Public Health & Safety	In Person
02:12:50	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Brodkin, Dr. Carl M.D.	Public Health & Safety	In Person
02:23:21	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:09:02	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Brodkin, Dr. Carl M.D.	Public Health & Safety	In Person
01:20:19	Break
01:43:11	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Brodkin, Dr. Carl M.D.	Public Health & Safety	In Person
02:02:47	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Raterman, Susan	Occupational Safety	In Person
01:01:45	Break
01:23:09	Witness Direct Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Raterman, Susan	Occupational Safety	In Person
01:50:08	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Raterman, Susan	Occupational Safety	In Person
02:23:16	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Schebler, Steven		Transcript Reading
00:43:27	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Jimenez, Michael		Transcript Reading
01:07:28	Break
01:30:26	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Jimenez, Michael		Transcript Reading
01:50:24	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Gleason, Richard	Occupational Safety	Transcript Reading
02:19:56	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Dolan, Laura	Economics & Accounting	In Person
00:45:19	Witness Cross Examination	Mittal, Rajeev	Dolan, Laura	Economics & Accounting	In Person
00:58:39	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Dolan, Laura	Economics & Accounting	In Person
01:00:12	Break
01:23:13	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Gleason, Richard	Occupational Safety	Transcript Reading
02:36:22	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
01:02:48	Break
01:32:36	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
02:21:02	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
01:09:41	Break
01:29:13	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
02:09:15	Witness Cross Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
02:31:18	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
00:57:13	Break
01:22:50	Witness Cross Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
02:18:02	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
00:46:57	Break
00:50:22	Witness Cross Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
01:05:44	Break
01:29:52	Witness Cross Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
01:55:29	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Ambler, Lloyd	Materials Science	Video Conference
02:56:57	General Case Activities
03:00:46	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Stanton, Gary	In Person
00:47:48	Witness Cross Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Stanton, Gary	In Person
01:06:45	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Stanton, Gary	In Person
01:13:08	Break
01:45:25	General Case Activities		Stanton, Gary	In Person
01:47:15	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Glock, Mark	Video Recording
02:03:39	Witness Direct Examination	Ross, Valerie	Padilla, Arturo	Video Recording
02:27:09	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Osteraas, Dr. John Ph.D., P.E.	Engineering	In Person
01:00:17	Break
01:24:42	Witness Cross Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Osteraas, Dr. John Ph.D., P.E.	Engineering	In Person
01:46:43	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Osteraas, Dr. John Ph.D., P.E.	Engineering	In Person
02:01:02	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Closings

3 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

4 Chapters

JAN

AM Session

Closings

5 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

3 Chapters

FEB

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Francisco Herrera, et al. v. Certainteed Corporation, et al.

Summary

Outcome

Playlists

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:04:03	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Raterman, Susan	Occupational Safety	In Person
01:09:59	Break
01:30:00	Witness Cross Examination	Suddleson, Todd	Raterman, Susan	Occupational Safety	In Person
01:33:09	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Johnson, Christopher	Raterman, Susan	Occupational Safety	In Person
01:52:46	Witness Direct Examination	Chester-Schindler, Susannah	Horowitz, Leon		Transcript Reading
02:24:40	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:19:05	Closing Statement	Chester-Schindler, Susannah
01:12:59	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Witness Expertise	Presence
		00:00:00	Reading of the Verdict
		00:02:19	General Case Activities
		00:03:10	End of Session