Chuhak & Tecson wins on behalf of Sun Chemical Corporation

CHICAGO – March 24, 2022 – Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. is pleased to announce that Stephen A. Wood, principal at the firm, has obtained a defense verdict on behalf of Sun Chemical Corporation in the case of Martin G. Ford v. Acuity, et al., No. 2015 L 7584 pending in the Circuit Court Cook County, Illinois on March 21, 2022 after a four-week jury trial.

The plaintiff, a pressman with a 28-year work history, contracted acute myelogenous leukemia that he alleged was caused by exposure to benzene in Sun Chemical’s products. In the original complaint, the plaintiff named 22 defendants in addition to Sun Chemical. However, by the time of trial, all the other defendants had been dismissed; several pursuant to settlement with the plaintiff.

In the closing argument, the plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for a total of $16.3 million in compensatory damages. The jury took approximately two hours to return a unanimous verdict in Sun Chemical’s favor indicating that the liability determination was not a close call. In discussions after the verdict, several jurors indicated that cross-examination of the plaintiff’s experts’ exposure and causation opinions, exposing the subjective bases and flawed assumptions, was central to their decision.

“In closing argument, we highlighted the flaws in the plaintiff’s exposure expert’s methods to reinforce the point that many of his conclusions were not reasonably supported by the data he relied upon,” Mr. Wood explained.

If you have questions regarding this case or have a litigation matter you would like to discuss, please contact Mr. Wood at swood@chuhak.com.