In an asbestos case that caught the attention of the plaintiffs and defense bar alike, the New Jersey Supreme Court has held that prior testimony attributing fault to corporations that already settled was properly submitted to, and considered by, the jury in the trial against one remaining defendant.

The statements given by settling defendants in the deposition testimony and interrogatory answers “in combination with other evidence presented at trial, gave rise to a prima facie showing that the settling defendants bore some fault in this matter,” and the trial judge “properly submitted to the jury the question of whether a percentage of fault should be apportioned to the settling defendants,” Justice Anne Patterson wrote for the unanimous court Wednesday in Rowe v. Bell & Gossett.