Insurer Asks SC Supreme Court To Remove Former Justice From Asbestos Lawsuits

An insurance company involved in asbestos-related litigation is attempting to remove a former South Carolina Supreme Court chief justice from hearing several lawsuits by alleging the judge is biased and prejudicial.

Lawyers for Zurich American Insurance, based in Illinois, asked the state Supreme Court earlier this month to remove Jean Toal from the lawsuits involving their client.

Toal, who served as the state’s top judge for 15 years, was appointed to oversee all of the asbestos-related litigation in South Carolina’s court system.

Zurich’s attorneys argue Toal should be forced to recuse herself from the lawsuits because of questions they raised about her impartiality.

It’s an unusual legal move to ask the Supreme Court to boot a judge from a lawsuit, and the seriousness of the situation is one that Zurich’s attorneys recognized immediately in their request.