Case Background

This case came out of a personal injury lawsuit filed by Denise J. Guth Cook, a resident of both Florida and Illinois, who had been diagnosed with malignant epithelioid mesothelioma in October 2023. She traced her asbestos exposure back to multiple sources over her lifetime, including regular use of cosmetic talc powders and secondary exposure to asbestos dust brought home by her father and late husband, both of whom worked around industrial and automotive products. Among the Defendants, Ms. Cook named Hennessy Industries, LLC, for its role in manufacturing and distributing an AMMCO brake grinder that allegedly contributed to her illness.

The event that led to the dispute

Cook’s legal team argued that Hennessy Industries negligently placed a dangerous product, the AMMCO brake grinder, into the marketplace. The product, used widely in automotive repair shops to resurface brake shoes, released fine asbestos dust into the air when paired with brakes that commonly contained asbestos. Her lawyers claimed the grinder lacked proper warnings and safety features, despite the known dangers of asbestos.

Injury suffered

Doctors diagnosed Ms. Cook with malignant epithelioid mesothelioma, an aggressive and terminal cancer primarily caused by asbestos exposure. Her legal team linked this condition to lifelong, repeated exposure, both direct and indirect. She used talcum powder products daily for decades, many of which allegedly contained asbestos. She also grew up and later lived in homes where her father and husband brought back dust from their work in automotive and industrial environments. That dust, her attorneys argued, often came from working around brakes and machinery that released asbestos particles int