It’s not exactly “California casual” attire. But the T-shirt plaintiff’s lawyer Chris Andreas wore to a videotaped deposition in an Ohio asbestos case hasn’t offended everyone as much as a judge in Ohio who, after reviewing the tape, said “such a lack of respect is shocking.”
Ninth Circuit Judge Carlos Bea, who saw this photo of Andreas in his T-shirt, was a bit more understanding.
“Chris is young. He’s got a sense of humor, and he likes to get people’s goat,” said Bea, who was a San Francisco Superior Court judge before his nomination to the federal bench in 1991.
In an as yet unpublished letter to The Wall Street Journal that was also sent to The Recorder, Bea vigorously defended Andreas’ reputation and questioned claims in a Jan. 22 Journal editorial that Andreas was guilty of ripping off asbestos bankruptcy trusts using a practice known as “double dipping.”
In his letter, Bea took issue with the assertion that there’s something improper about filing claims for one client in more than one asbestos trust. “I’m afraid this betrays ignorance as to how mesothelioma is caused,” wrote the federal judge.
Details here from CalLaw.com's Legal Pad.