$1.9 Million Verdict for Toxic Tort Victims
- Date: Spring/Summer 1996
- Attorney: Brian E. Mahoney
- Settlement: $1.9 Million
- Practice Areas: Premises Liability
Mr. Mahoney co-tried a toxic tort case on behalf of two workers who were overcome and permanently damaged by toxic fumes from a chemical plant neighboring their place of work on Doremus Avenue in Newark, NJ in 1992. The 1996 trial, then the second-longest civil trial in Essex County history, spanned two and a half months and involved the presentation of seven experts in disparate scientific and medical disciplines. Mr. Mahoney conducted the direct and cross-examination of all liability experts and delivered the closing statement on liability. The jury rendered an aggregate verdict of $1.9 million on July 17, 1996. Following a new trial motion and protracted appeal, briefed and argued by Mr. Mahoney, the verdict was upheld two years later in the reported opinion, Harris v. Peridot Chemical (NJ), 313 N.J.Super. 257 (1998).