Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. wants the Florida Supreme Court to take up the company's challenge to a more than $9 million verdict in the death of a man who suffered from asbestos-caused mesothelioma.
Northrop Grumman has filed a notice that it will appeal a decision last month by the 3rd District Court of Appeal upholding the verdict against the company, according to documents posted Wednesday on the Supreme Court website.
The case involves mesothelioma suffered by Dennis Britt, an employee-benefits adviser who visited commercial and industrial sites, including Northrop Grumman facilities, to enroll workers, according to the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruling. Britt, who died during the lawsuit, testified that he was exposed to asbestos fibers while at Northrop Grumman facilities.
A Miami-Dade County jury awarded his wife, Rosa-Maria Britt, $8.5 million in compensatory damages and his estate $519,265 in medical and funeral expenses. Northrop Grumman appealed the verdict, but the South Florida appeals court on Sept. 6 rejected a series of arguments, including that an expert witness had failed to establish the amounts of asbestos Dennis Britt inhaled while at company facilities in Bethpage, N.Y., and Hawthorne, Calif.
