## Facts

- Robert Jowers worked for decades at Ingalls Shipbuilding as a shipfitter and later as a supervisor/foreman, performing and overseeing mild-steel welding.
- Jowers used welding consumables manufactured by BOC Group, ESAB Group, and Lincoln Electric that emitted fumes containing manganese.
- Evidence showed Jowers was exposed to welding fumes from his own work and nearby work for roughly six to seven hours per day over many years.
- Jowers developed neurological symptoms and was diagnosed with manganese-induced parkinsonism, described at trial as permanent, progressive, and disabling.
- Defendants provided labels and safety information, but Jowers testified he did not know manganese in welding fumes could cause neurological injury.
- A jury found for Jowers on failure-to-warn against all three defendants, awarding $1.2 million compensatory damages and $1.7 million punitive damages total; it found Jowers 40% comparatively negligent and found against his wife on her loss-of-consortium claim.
- Judgment reduced compensatory damages to 60% ($720,000) based on comparative fault, while leaving punitive damages intact.
- Defendants filed renewed motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and, alternatively, a new trial; plaintiffs sought to alter the consortium verdict and requested attorney’s fees.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence required JMOL or a new trial on the failure-to-warn verdict, including product identification/exposure, adequacy of warnings, and proximate causation.
2. Whether alleged instructional or evidentiary errors (including the government-contractor defense and fault apportionment) warranted a new trial.
3. Whether punitive damages lacked legally sufficient evidentiary support under Mississippi’s clear-and-convincing standard.
4. Whether the verdict against the spouse on loss of consortium had to be amended or retried as inconsistent with the injury verdict.
5. Whether plaintiffs were entitled to attorney’s fees and expenses.

## Decision

- Defendants’ renewed JMOL on liability and alternative motion for new trial: denied.
- Defendants’ renewed JMOL on punitive damages: denied.
- Plaintiffs’ motion to amend the judgment or obtain a new trial on loss of consortium: denied.
- Plaintiffs’ motion for attorney’s fees and expenses: denied.
- The court left intact the judgment for Robert Jowers (compensatory damages reduced for comparative fault and full punitive damages) and the defense verdict on loss of consortium.

## Legal Principles

- Rule 50(b): A jury verdict may be set aside only when there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for the nonmovant.
- Rule 59: A new trial is warranted only when the verdict is against the great weight of the evidence or trial error likely affected the outcome.
- Mississippi failure-to-warn: Manufacturers must provide adequate warnings of known or knowable hazards to foreseeable users; proximate cause may be shown by proof that adequate warnings would likely have changed conduct and prevented injury.
- Mississippi comparative fault: The jury may apportion fault to the plaintiff, reducing compensatory damages accordingly; in this case, fault could not be allocated to the employer under controlling Mississippi law as applied by the court.
- Mississippi punitive damages: Punitive liability requires clear and convincing proof of gross negligence or reckless disregard for the safety of others; evidence of long-known severe risk and continued inadequate warnings may support such a finding.
- Loss of consortium under Mississippi law is a separate claim; a jury may reject it even when the injured spouse prevails on underlying liability and damages.
- Attorney’s fees are not recoverable absent a statute, contract, or recognized exception authorizing fee shifting.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the jury’s findings that defendants failed to provide adequate warnings about manganese-related neurological risks from welding fumes, that the failure proximately caused Jowers’s injury, and that the evidence permitted punitive damages; it also sustained the defense verdict on loss of consortium and denied attorney’s fees.


Jowers v. BOC Grp., Inc., 608 F. Supp. 2d 724 (S.D. Miss. 2009)