Too bad one-time big-time asbestos plaintiff attorney Dickie Scruggs won't be able to take advantage of what I call The Lazarus Ruling. Thousands of asbestos lawsuits which were assumed to be made invalid by legislation are alive again.
In the DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW, Bud Newman reports, "The 4th District Court of Appeal breathed new life into thousands of pending asbestos-related lawsuits Wednesday by invalidating retroactivity in a state law designed to limit the number of people eligible to sue."
The ruling was unanimous. In the opinion, Judge Gary Farmer wrote, says Newman, "that the Florida Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act 'may not constitutionally be applied to eliminate the existing vested rights in the lawsuits pending when the act became effective' July 1, 2005."
Defense attorneys indicate that they might appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
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