Unsealed racketeering lawsuits have shed light on allegations of concealed evidence in the Garlock Sealing Industries asbestos case, which involves more than 900,000 personal injury lawsuits resulting from contaminated gaskets manufactured by the company. Garlock, which has essentially become the face of asbestos litigation, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to the unsealed complaints, four law firms representing victims of asbestos-related injuries hid evidence and counseled their clients to commit perjury in an attempt to receive greater compensation from the gasket manufacturer. Allegedly, the hidden evidence would have shown that asbestos plaintiffs had been exposed to asbestos through products made by companies other than Garlock.
For example, one of the alleged concealments was made in the case of Vincent Golini, a now-deceased mesothelioma victim, who was advised by the Philadelphia-based Shein Law Center to focus his lawsuit on Garlock, rather than the 13 other companies that were also responsible for his exposure to the deadly toxin. Those other companies were all bankrupt; Golini was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2009, prior to Garlock’s entrance into Chapter 11 protection.
Daniel Brier, Golini’s attorney, has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the law firm has acted “ethically and properly” in its representation of clients.
The Garlock case has seen its fair share of controversy; most recently, current and future plaintiffs’ attorneys have been at odds over how to deal with Garlock’s eventual emergence from Chapter 11. Last year, Judge George Hodges dramatically diminished the amount that Garlock would be ordered to pay its victims; attorneys were seeking $1 billion, but Judge Hodges determined $125 million was more appropriate. The unsealed racketeering lawsuits go a long way in explaining why Judge Hodges may have felt that the payout sought by plaintiffs’ attorneys was unreasonable and inflated.
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