A North Carolina couple has decided to remove multiple defendants, including 3M, from their lawsuit concerning asbestos exposure at a former DuPont facility, as a judge considers whether to consolidate their case with another family’s.
Augustus and Diane Adams voluntarily dismissed 3M Co., HOK Group Inc., Rust Engineering & Construction Inc., and Rust International Inc. from their lawsuit aimed at holding several companies accountable for Augustus Adams’ mesothelioma diagnosis allegedly linked to his work at a DuPont facility in Kinston, North Carolina.
The joint motions to dismiss filed with HOK and Rust, along with the joint stipulation of dismissal with 3M, did not provide explanations for their decision.
Currently, the Adamses are awaiting a judge’s decision on whether they can combine their lawsuit with Clarence Hales’, another former DuPont worker whose family is pursuing asbestos litigation in the same district.
Opposition from Remaining Defendants
The remaining defendants, including Dow Chemical Co., General Electric, and Fluor Enterprises Inc., have opposed this effort, arguing that the work history and alleged exposure of the two men were too distinct. However, the shared counsel of both families believes consolidating the suits will save the court time and resources.
3M, HOK, and Rust are not named as defendants in the Haleses lawsuit.
The Adamses initially sued nearly three dozen entities in the Eastern District of North Carolina in October 2021, shortly after Augustus Adams received his mesothelioma diagnosis. It is claimed that his exposure to and inhalation of asbestos fibers at the Kinston facility, where he worked as a maintenance worker and insulator from the 1950s to the 1980s, led to the diagnosis.
Specific Allegations Against Dismissed Defendants
According to the complaint, 3M, formerly known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co., allegedly produced and sold substantial amounts of asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products. Moreover, they are accused of falsely marketing their products, such as masks, as capable of preventing asbestos exposure.
HOK, the successor to J.E. Sirrine, is alleged to have installed and removed thermal insulation containing asbestos. Rust, on the other hand, is the successor to Sirrine Environmental Consultants Inc., which also allegedly dealt with asbestos-contaminated insulation.
The lawsuit accuses these companies and others of defective design for manufacturing products containing asbestos, failure to warn, breach of implied warranty, and gross negligence, among other claims.
The Haleses lawsuit was filed earlier, in May 2021, and asserts similar causes of action against numerous defendants following Hales’ death in 2019, purportedly due to mesothelioma.
