Stone countertop makers get jury win in case claiming liability for silicosis

A Torrance jury ruled in favor of manufacturers of artificial granite countertops, who were accused of concealing the fact that their products were toxic when inhaled.

Plaintiffs' attorneys seek to hold manufacturers and distributors of artificial slabs liable for the silicosis that their clients allegedly developed while inhaling dust that became airborne as they cut and ground fake stone countertops.

It was the third such case to go to trial. The defendants' attorneys with King & Spalding LLP believe the verdict foreshadows the direction of hundreds of nearly identical cases in California. Plaintiffs' attorneys with Brayton Purcell LLP downplayed the verdict, saying that defense verdicts did not derail efforts to hold asbestos manufacturers liable over decades of litigation.

"The client and we are heartened by the finding that these slabs are not defective," said King & Spalding partner Peter A. Strotz.

"We believe that these quartz slabs are safe. There is no respirable silica in a stone slab. You can't breathe in a stone. The respirable nature doesn't happen until they cut, grind and polish it. If they follow the law and follow Cal/OSHA, it's safe," he continued.

Strotz and his colleague Bryan L. King represented defendants Caesarstone Ltd., which manufactures slabs overseas, and Caesarstone USA, which distributes the products in the United States.

"One of our themes is that they sued the wrong people. They went to trial against manufacturers and distributors," Strotz said.

Metzger Law Group sued several artificial slab manufacturers and distributors in May 2023 on behalf of the family of a countertop installer who died from silicosis three months earlier. The complaint claimed negligence; strict liability - warning defect; strict liability - design defect; fraudulent concealment; and breach of implied warranties. Wendy Virdinia Solano-Claustro v. ADB Global Trade LLC, et al., 23STCV11602 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed May 22, 2023).

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eric C. Taylor granted nonsuit for failure to warn and punitive damages, so the case went to the jury on design defect, negligence and three affirmative defenses, Strotz noted.

The jury did not reach the three affirmative defenses and found that there were no design defects nor negligence, Strotz said.

He said that Caesarstone includes plenty of warning labels and safety information with its slabs. But he said its products end up in illegal shops via shadowy middlemen. Caesarstone discovered that a company was selling its slabs out the back door and has filed a cross complaint against a shop operator, he said.

Plaintiffs' attorney James Nevin said he expects a reversal on appeal on the grounds his clients did not get a fair trial. Nevin's firm, Brayton Purcell LLP, is co-counsel with Metzger Law Group.

"The trial judge made numerous errors that were contrary to fundamental black letter law," he said.

"One defense verdict is not determinative of the overall outcome of this litigation. There are thousands of artificial stone fabrication workers who have worked at many thousands of fabrication shops who have silicosis," Nevin said.

"The defense in the artificial stone silicosis cases is very similar to asbestos litigation, where after 40 years of litigation the manufacturer defendants still try to place the blame on the place of employment," he continued. "Whether or not the place of employment has a duty or complied with that duty does not in any way exonerate the defective product manufacturers."

A similar case involving another employee at the same shop operator goes to trial before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cherol J. Nellon on Thursday.

A Los Angeles County jury last August found Caesarstone and other manufacturers partially liable and awarded the plaintiffs $52 million. But two months later Judge William Fahey found that the plaintiff presented insufficient evidence at trial to

hold one of the defendants responsible for the illness and partially reversed the verdict. Reyes-Gonzalez v. Aaroha Radiant Marble & Granite Slabs, a California corporation et al., 22STCV31907 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 29, 2022).

Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II of the Los Angeles County Superior Court has filed a petition to coordinate nearly 80 silicosis civil cases in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco, but left it up to the judges to decide whether to stay the cases. That decision is pending.