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Posted on August 25, 2013 

On behalf of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) community and our Science Advisory Board, we send our sincere condolences to Mr. Ron Motley’s family and to all at Motley Rice.

On Thursday, Ronald L. Motley, a South Carolina lawyer, who spearheaded lawsuits against big tobacco and asbestos industries, passed away at the age of 68.

Mr. Motley was a one-of-a-kind attorney and tireless advocate who, for so many decades, made such a huge difference in the lives of asbestos victims and their families. His tenacity and brilliance in and out of the courtroom was seen and felt throughout the nation.  As he powerfully said,  “I will stand for my client’s rights – I am a trial lawyer.”

As the New York Times reported,

“Mr. Motley was not above pulling a stunt to get a point across. Mr. Rice recalled a major asbestos case in Baltimore in which a witness for the companies involved, a doctor, gave some six hours of expert testimony asserting that the plaintiffs had not actually been ill. Mr. Motley followed up by coming into the courtroom wearing a doctor’s lab coat, and through pointed questioning emphasized that the doctor on the stand had been paid for his testimony and had never met the patients he was speaking about.

“He was conveying to the jury that just because you wear a piece of clothing, it doesn’t make you an expert,” Mr. Rice recalled. “Ron flipped that whole jury away from that five- or six-hour testimony in five minutes.”

The asbestos company lost, and the white coat was part of its argument to have the verdict overturned. But the appeals courts let it stand. That and other lawsuits led to bankruptcy filings by many of the companies in the asbestos industry.”

ADAO will continue to honor Mr. Motley’s legacy and his firm’s commitment to truth and justice as we continue our work to help asbestos victims in the United States, Canada, and the world.

If you would like to learn more about Mr. Motley please read his New York Times obituary.

With sadness,

Linda

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Funeral arrangements and a statement from Motley Rice Co-Founder Joe Rice