CHARLES TALBERT: Taking Charge

These are desperate times for asbestos defense lawyers. We are accustomed to fending off the usual boilerplate motions and briefs that typically get lobbed at us when we file a lawsuit. But this beats `em all. A defense lawyer in Anchorage, Alaska has motioned the Court in Anchorage to disqualify me on grounds that I was "impolite." Specifically, I referred to another lawyer during a deposition as "Bubba."

Now let's get this straight. I represent 46 men from the Asbestos Workers Local 97 and Pipefitters Local 367 in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the first asbestos lawsuit filed in Alaska, a state which according to legend is inhabited by rugged pioneers, trappers, miners and assorted tough guys. I'm in town to take the deposition of Charles Talbert, a former pipefitter with mesothelioma. As a side note, when Charles came to Alaska in 1948, the City of Anchorage consisted of two muddy streets and a brothel. You'd imagine the language would have to get pretty rough to offend the local sourdoughs.

In truth, the deposition was rough -- but not for the 20 asbestos company lawyers sitting around the table in the Pipefitter's Union Hall. It was rough for Charles Talbert. Charles had been advised by the best and the brightest surgical oncologists from Harvard that he was not a candidate for surgical resection of his tumor. Charles, no stranger to adversity, did not skip a beat. He simply began searching for clinics that might offer non-conventional treatments. He settled on a clinic in the Bahamas.

Charles Talbert

Charles had decided to leave Alaska for the Bahamas soon after his deposition. Before the deposition began, I notified the defense counsel of Mr. Talbert's need for treatment and travel plans. The defense lawyers proceeded to turn a four hour deposition into a three day saga. Along the way, tempers flared. At one point, an obviously well fed lawyer threatened to call the judge over some petty matter, to which I responded off the record (in so many words), "Listen Bubba, you're a big boy. If you can't work it out and need to call the Judge, go right ahead."

Hardly the type of speech that runs afoul of the First Amendment. I call some of my best friends "Bubba." It has an endearing sort of resonance about it. On a more serious note, it's getting harder to explain the ways of thin-skinned, technocratic, rulebook readers -- the type of lawyers who would elevate form over substance and use the procedural rules to thwart the pursuit of justice rather than facilitate it. As usual, instead of addressing the issues on the merits, the asbestos companies want to attack the victims and their lawyers.

After his deposition, Charles spent six weeks at the IAT Clinic in the Bahamas. I wish I could report that he was cured. But on his return to Anchorage, he was evaluated by his pulmonary doctor. The tumor has grown in size. Charles' weight has dropped from 202 lbs. in March to 165 lbs. in September. He has begun to experience pain.

The trial court in Anchorage set his case for trial in July, 1997, despite the testimony of his doctor that Mr. Talbert's prognosis is poor. His doctor recommended that the trial be set immediately. This will be the first asbestos trial ever in the State of Alaska.

Charles Talbert died on December 9, 1996. He was surrounded by his five sons, each of which are union pipe fitters who live and work in and around Anchorage, Alaska.