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Mesothelioma Victim Wins Verdict in California Asbestos Lawsuit

enarh — Tue, 6 May 2008 08:18:18 -0700

Release Date

March 12, 2008

Summary

The law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. today announced a verdict in an asbestos lawsuit on behalf of a 69-year-old victim of mesothelioma, a painful and debilitating form of cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, and her husband of 42 years. The jury held asbestos manufacturer Georgia Pacific responsible for her injuries.<br />

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SAN FRANCISCO — The law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. today announced a verdict in an asbestos lawsuit on behalf of a 69-year-old victim of mesothelioma, a painful and debilitating form of cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, and her husband of 42 years. The jury held asbestos manufacturer Georgia Pacific responsible for her injuries.

Baron & Budd attorneys John Langdoc and Roger Gold represented the clients before Judge Thomas Mellon in San Francisco County Superior Court, announced Russell Budd, managing shareholder of Baron & Budd.

“To our knowledge, this is one of the largest asbestos verdicts of its kind,” said Budd. “The results of this trial send a clear message that companies will be held accountable for endangering innocent people.”

The plaintiff, a San Francisco native, spent much of her career in real estate and show business. Her singing career spanned 30 years and took her around the world seven times on USO tours. But it was her work in the part-time family construction business that exposed her to Georgia Pacific’s asbestos-containing joint compound, the suit established. Together, she and her husband, who was also a math teacher, built and remodeled over 200 houses in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The evidence at trial showed that Georgia Pacific knew from the moment it entered the asbestos business that asbestos exposure causes disease. Years before the couple first used Georgia Pacific’s asbestos-containing joint compound, Georgia Pacific knew that its product posed a substantial risk to workers. But Georgia Pacific continued making asbestos-containing joint compounds well after other companies stopped.

Georgia Pacific made a conscious business decision to benefit financially from the fact that other manufacturers ceased manufacturing the more profitable asbestos containing joint compounds. Not until the government banned certain uses of asbestos in 1977, after the Consumer Product Safety Commission said that exposure to asbestos-containing joint compound for as little as six hours a day, four times per year could result in thousands of people developing cancer, did Georgia Pacific stop selling asbestos containing joint compound.

“I’ve been honored to represent this family,” said Langdoc. “This lady has worked hard her whole life to care for her parents, to raise a much younger sister, and now to take care of her husband, the love of her life, who was disabled by a stroke last year. Georgia Pacific didn’t care what happened to her family when it sold this product without warnings, but we do care.”

The damage caused by asbestos exposure can take decades to surface. The plaintiff was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2006—35 years after her first exposure to Georgia Pacific’s product. She continues to fight the painful disease that experts say will cause great suffering and eventually kill her.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

For 30 years, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With more than 50 attorneys and offices in California, Texas and Louisiana, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs’ bar. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos and other toxic substances and unsafe pharmaceuticals; water authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination; securities investors defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers in class actions.

Press Contact

Profiles to List Under

Russell W. Budd

John Langdoc

Roger E. Gold

Mesothelioma News profiles public figures who have developed mesothelioma

Kelly — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:33:36 -0700

Release Date

August 22, 2007

Summary

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Mesothelioma attorneys Baron & Budd have devoted a special section on the website www.mesotheliomanews.com to honor public figures who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Because of the low level of exposure needed to trigger mesothelioma and its particularly long latency period, mesothelioma is not limited to workers heavily exposed to the toxic mineral during their careers. Among the many thousands of people around the world who have been stricken with mesothelioma are some well known people from the fields of politics, arts and science, even military and Olympic heroes. This section of Mesothelioma News tells some of their stories.

To visit “Mesothelioma Can Strike Anyone”, go to http://www.mesotheliomanews.com/mesothelioma-can-strike-anyone

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Russell Budd Honored With Prestigious Justice Association Award

enarh — Tue, 6 May 2008 10:03:39 -0700

Release Date

June 21, 2007

Summary

Attorney Russell Budd of Dallas' Baron & Budd, P.C. has earned the prestigious Wiedemann Wysocki National Finance Council Award from the American Association for Justice.

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Attorney Russell Budd of Dallas' Baron & Budd, P.C. has earned the prestigious Wiedemann Wysocki National Finance Council Award from the American Association for Justice.

Mr. Budd is among only 14 attorneys nationwide to receive the 2007 award, which honors attorneys for their commitment to the legal profession and their efforts to improve the civil justice system.

"I am very honored to be recognized by the American Association for Justice and my fellow attorneys in the plaintiffs bar," Mr. Budd says. "This award speaks to our firm's overall mission of making sure our clients receive the best legal representation we can provide while doing whatever we can to help protect the public interest."

The Wiedemann Wysocki award is named in honor of Fritz Wiedemann and James Anthony Wysocki, two New Orleans-based attorneys and active American Association for Justice members who died in a plane crash while traveling to an American Association for Justice event.

Mr. Budd is president and managing shareholder of Baron & Budd, a Dallas-based law firm that over the last three decades has become a national leader in championing the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With more than 50 attorneys and more than 300 staff, Baron & Budd represents clients in toxic tort litigation, as well as securities fraud, class actions and commercial litigation.

Mr. Budd will receive his award on July 16 at the association's annual conference in Chicago.

About Baron & Budd

Since 1977, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With more than 50 attorneys and offices in Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and California, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs' bar. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos; leukemia caused by benzene; and injuries caused by other toxic substances and pharmaceuticals. The firm also represents water authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination; municipalities and securities investors defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers.

Press Contact

Profiles to List Under

Russell W. Budd

Baron & Budd Attorneys Earn "D Magazine" Honors

jess — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 16:36:15 -0800

Release Date

May 15, 2006

Summary

Attorneys with the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. have been selected to the D Magazine list of “Best Lawyers in Dallas under 40” for 2006.

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DALLAS, Texas (May 2006) - Attorneys with the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. have been selected to the D Magazine list of “Best Lawyers in Dallas under 40” for 2006. Attorneys named to the list in their respective areas of practice are Laura Baughman (Environmental/Land Use), Kevin McHargue (Appellate) and Bruce Steckler (Personal Injury).

The biennial listing honoring Dallas’ top attorneys appears in the May 2006 issue of the magazine. Peers make nominations for the list, with final selections made by a panel of attorneys chosen by the editors of D Magazine.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

Since 1977, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With over 80 attorneys and offices in Texas, California, Ohio, Louisiana and New York, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs’ bar. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos; leukemia and lymphoma caused by benzene; and injuries caused by other toxic substances and pharmaceuticals. The firm also represents water authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination; securities investors and governmental entities defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers. For more information about Baron & Budd, call 1-800-222-2766 or visit www.baronandbudd.com.

Profiles to List Under

Bruce W. Steckler

Laura J. Baughman

Kevin D. McHargue

Baron & Budd Attorneys Named "Rising Stars of Texas Law"

jess — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 16:48:46 -0800

Release Date

March 15, 2006

Summary

Attorneys with the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. have been named "Rising Stars of Texas Law" in the March 2006 editions of Texas Super Lawyers–Rising Stars and Texas Monthly.

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DALLAS, Texas (March 2006) – Ten attorneys with the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. have been named "Rising Stars of Texas Law" in the March 2006 editions of Texas Super Lawyers–Rising Stars and Texas Monthly. The annual list honoring the state’s top young attorneys is a joint project of the publishers of Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Media. Only 2.5% of Texas attorneys under the age of 40 or who have been in practice for less than ten years received this year’s honor.

Baron & Budd attorneys named “Texas Rising Stars” for 2006 are associates Denyse Clancy, who litigates cases on behalf of victims of leukemia and lymphoma caused by benzene exposure; Stephen Johnston and Carla M. Burke, who represent water providers seeking clean-up costs for MTBE and other water contaminants; and Renee M. Melancon, an associate in the firm’s appellate section.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

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Baron & Budd, P.C. Named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" for Third Year in a Row

jess — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:12:24 -0800

Release Date

October 12, 2005

Summary

For the third year running, Baron & Budd, P.C. has again been named to <em>The National Law Journal's</em> prestigious "Hot List" of U.S. plaintiffs' firms.

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DALLAS, Texas - For the third year running, Baron & Budd, P.C. has again been named to The National Law Journal's prestigious "Hot List" of U.S. plaintiffs' firms. The publication's annual compendium of the plaintiffs' firms doing the most to shape the law featured only 12 U.S. firms in the article appearing October 10, 2005, "a reflection of our narrower focus on firms that showed a special spark at trial before a judge or jury. . .We wanted to emphasize firms that secured trial verdicts significant for their size or their reverberations in business and society."

The article noted that Baron & Budd stayed in the limelight representing varied clients and "seems assured of maintaining its high profile. . . ." The national legal publication highlighted some of Baron & Budd's noteworthy cases of the past year, including:

Strong v. E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co. (Jones Co., Miss., Cir. Ct.): The firm won a $15.5 million verdict in August 2005 for a man who contracted cancer through exposure to dioxin released from a Gulfport, Miss., chemical plant into the air in the surrounding neighborhood and St. Louis Bay.

Bostic v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., et al, (Dallas County, Texas, Ct. At Law No. 3): A Dallas jury in March 2005 awarded $9.3 million against Georgia-Pacific Corp. for a man who died at 41 from mesothelioma attributed to his exposure to asbestos while working with his father as a boy. Within six weeks, the firm secured two other verdicts for victims of asbestos cancer, including a $10 million verdict for a Los Angeles Navy veteran who developed mesothelioma and a $3.6 million verdict for a Louisiana chemical plant worker who developed asbestos-related lung cancer.

CBE v. Tosco Corp. (San Francisco Co., Calif., Super. Ct.): The firm reached settlements requiring several major oil companies to upgrade gas stations, clean up groundwater contamination and take steps to prevent gasoline leaking from more than 1,000 underground storage tanks in California.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.:

Since 1977, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With over 80 attorneys and offices in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Louisiana and New York, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs' bar. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos; leukemia and lymphoma caused by benzene; and injuries caused by other toxic substances and pharmaceuticals. The firm also represents water authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination; securities investors defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers. For more information about Baron & Budd, call 1-800-222-2766 or visit www.baronandbudd.com.

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