Iola, Gross & Forbes-King Law Firm: Company failed to warn about its ceramics clay products

BOSTON, Sept. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A Boston jury has returned an $83 million verdict against American Art Clay Company, agreeing that a Western Massachusetts woman's mesothelioma death was caused by their asbestos-laden products.

The verdict includes $60 million in punitive damages based on a finding that the company engaged in "malicious, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct" by concealing and failing to warn users of their products.

The jury awarded $10 million for pain and suffering to Greenfield, Massachusetts, resident Judith A. Lapointe, who died in November 2021, weeks after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. The jury also awarded $13 million for the loss suffered by her husband, Michael Lapointe.

This is the second multimillion dollar mesothelioma verdict secured by Iola, Gross & Forbes-King in the last three weeks. On August 28, the firm won a $12.25 million verdict for an Upstate New York woman in a lawsuit against Vanderbilt Minerals.

According to the Massachusetts lawsuit, Ms. Lapointe was exposed to asbestos fibers from the 1950s through the 1990s from her mother's use of pottery clay. Over six days of testimony, attorneys presented evidence that AMACO officials knew, or should have known, about the health risks associated with asbestos in their products as early as the 1960s but failed to warn users.

Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer that affects the lungs and internal organs. Asbestos exposure is the disease's only known cause.

"This lawsuit is about justice for a life unnecessarily cut short because of the choices that this company made to conceal the truth about the dangers of asbestos in its products," said trial attorney Rachel Gross of Dallas-based Iola, Gross & Forbes-King.

This is believed to be the largest asbestos verdict ever awarded in Massachusetts.

The case is Michael A. Lapointe, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Judith A. Lapointe v American Art Clay Company., No. 2181CV06597, in Commonwealth of Massachusetts Superior Court.

In addition to Ms. Gross, the trial team included Sam Iola of Iola, Gross & Forbes-King, Michael P. Joyce and Rafael Colmenares of the Law Offices of Michael P. Joyce, and Joe Belluck of Belluck Law Firm.

Iola, Gross & Forbes-King is a Dallas-based litigation boutique focused on representing individuals harmed by exposure to cancer-causing asbestos. Visit https://www.iolagross.com.

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SOURCE Iola, Gross & Forbes-King