Maryland’s second-highest court has reversed a $3 million jury verdict won by a former paper mill worker who alleged his lung cancer stemmed from asbestos exposure at the plant in western Maryland. The Court of Special Appeals ruled that defendant Scapa Dryer Fabrics Inc., a Windsor, Conn.-based unit of Britain’s Scapa Group Plc, should have been granted a motion to delay the 2003 trial to prepare its defense. The case was remanded to Baltimore City Circuit Court for a new trial. Scapa manufactured dryer felts, which is fabric attached to the conveyor belts of machines, that Carl Saville cleaned and maintained. Of the hundreds of dryer felts used at the mill during Saville’s employment, just two were asbestos-containing felts made by Scapa, according to the unreported opinion. And there were other sources of asbestos in the mill, according to the ruling. Saville was diagnosed with lung cancer and mesothelioma in 2001 or 2002. He filed suit in June 2002 against 32 defendants.
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