Jack Belton and John Crochet v. Fibreboard Corporation, Pittsburgh Corning Corporation

The threshold of this appeal concerns the admissibility of evidence of settlement agreements and the permissible boundaries of fair judicial comment to the jury. 1 Concluding that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of the amount of pre-trial settlements by a number of co-defendants, and by expressing its opinion on the amount of damages, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

Background

The facts are undisputed. The plaintiffs, Jack Belton and John Crochet, filed this diversity action against appellant Pittsburgh Corning and fifteen other defendants, alleging that their exposure to…