California Superior Court, Alameda County

Decedent Gene Hankes Sr. passed away of mesothelioma at 85 years old. His estate brought this action against various brake manufacturers and auto-parts suppliers. At the time of trial, the only remaining defendant was O’Reilly Auto Enterprises LLC, an auto parts supplier. Each side presented their case, with experts. A California jury returned a defense verdict on behalf of O’Reilly after trial. They held that O’Reilly was not negligent in selling Bendix brakes, despite the notion that the brakes didn’t perform as an ordinary consumer would expect.