Riggs v. Georgia-Pacific LLC, 2015 UT 17, 345 P.3d 1219
Jan 30, 2015OUTCOME: Successful appeal for the plaintiffs/appellees on a wrongful death case.
Jase Allen was part of the legal team representing the successful plaintiffs in this Utah Supreme Court wrongful death case involving asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. The decedent had previously obt ... ained a jury verdict of more than $5.2 million in her personal injury action and died shortly thereafter. Her heirs subsequently pursued a wrongful death claim. The defendants argued that the prior personal injury judgment barred the heirs from bringing a separate wrongful death action. The Utah Supreme Court addressed the issue as a matter of first impression and held that, under Utah law, a wrongful death claim is an independent cause of action belonging to the heirs and is not extinguished by the decedent's prior personal injury judgment.
