February 05, 2007

Cleveland Plain Dealer profiles judge Harry Hanna, who cracked down on abusive asbestos litigation in his Cuyahoga County courtroom (more here and here):

Brayton Purcell "chose to weave a seemingly endless web of deceit," customizing each of its claims to fit Kananian - and not always telling the truth, Hanna wrote.

"In my 45 years of practicing law, I never expected to see lawyers lie like this," Hanna said in an interview from his chambers in the Old Lakeside Courthouse. "It was lies upon lies upon lies."...

"Courageous? I was just doing my job," said Hanna, 67, of University Heights, a retired judge appointed to oversee the county's asbestos docket in 1997. "It's just too bad it had to happen."

American Justice Partnership says the lesson is "that more defense counsel should take steps to convince judges to investigate asbestos fraud".