$34.1 Million Verdict for Missouri Roofer Who Developed Mesothelioma at Shell Oil's Illinois Refinery

James Hutcheson spent a decade doing periodic contract roofing and repair work at Shell Oil's Wood River refinery in southwestern Illinois. From 1956 to 1966, he was one of hundreds of tradespeople called in during plant shutdowns to install and remove refining units. The work surrounded him with insulation dust laden with asbestos fibers.

The exposure caught up with him years later. Hutcheson, then 64 and living in Missouri, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs caused almost exclusively by asbestos. The disease required the removal of one lung, most of his diaphragm, and the linings around his lungs and heart.

At trial, the jury heard testimony about a striking piece of evidence: a Shell Oil paralegal had acknowledged during deposition that more than 100 boxes of documents stored at the company's Houston headquarters had been withheld from discovery. The boxes included a 1937 American Petroleum Institute warning about the hazards of insulation dust containing asbestos. Shell had known about the risk decades before Hutcheson ever set foot on the refinery grounds.

William R. Fahey of Cooney and Conway, serving as co-counsel alongside Randall Bono of Bethalto, Illinois, argued that Shell had chosen not to protect its contract workers despite that internal knowledge. After roughly five hours of deliberations, the Madison County Circuit Court jury returned a verdict of $9.1 million in compensatory and medical damages and $25 million in punitive damages, totaling $34.1 million. At the time, it was described as the largest verdict ever returned in Madison County.

Shell Oil announced it would appeal, stating the verdict was not supported by the facts or the law. No published appellate decision reducing or vacating the award has been identified in available court records or press coverage.