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the dangers of asbestos by the time of Satterfield’s birth, and the Supreme Court found that Alcoa owed a duty of care to, among others, household members like Amanda Satterfield who had never been on Alcoa’s premises.
The Supreme Court of Tennessee held that, “In light of the magnitude of the potential harm from exposure to asbestos and the means available to prevent or reduce this harm, we see no reason to prevent carpool members, baby sitters, or the domestic help from pursuing negligence claims against an employer should they develop mesothelioma after being repeatedly
and regularly in close contact with an employee’s asbestos- contaminated work clothes over an extended period of time.”
After the court’s ruling, Alcoa reached an undisclosed settlement with the Satterfield family.
Large corporations not only hire the most expensive lawyers, but they can also afford costly public relations campaigns and even pay for biased research. These facts are
essential to keep in mind when the public considers the value of class action lawsuits against stories of big jury payouts
that mostly benefit the plaintiffs’ attorneys. At the end of the day, even in the case of the $1.50 coupon, the wrong-doing company (Walmart) was still out more than $27 million
– effectively, a fine for their bad behavior that gives them incentive to correct it. The public should not, therefore, buy into the story that these settlements and results benefit no one but the lawyers.
Even these coupon class actions still function as they are meant to: they punish companies who are harming society as a whole through corrupt, dishonest, or unsafe business practices, despite the impact on each individual being minimal. Moreover, attorneys are unlikely to take these cases on without some level of expected compensation.
As for Coleman, his aim is to go after more egregious behavior by corporations in similar hopes of reducing the incentive of greed that makes businesses cut corners. “When you think about it,” says Coleman, “class actions can be positive for businesses – at least the honest ones, especially if you are an ethical company that follows the rules and manufactures, for example, noncarcinogenic, American-made products.”
Coleman has been married to his wife, Candis, who is a retired litigator, for 13 years and has five daughters and four grandchildren.