226 N.J. Super. 572 (1988) 545 A.2d 213 WILLIAM B. MILLISON, AND MARIE MILLISON, HIS WIFE; VERNON G. KRONMAIER AND DOROTHY KRONMAIER, HIS WIFE; SUSAN SCHWEBEL, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF HAROLD SCHWEBEL; CLARENCE SCHWEBEL AND GERALDINE SCHWEBEL, HIS WIFE; FRANK BAPTISTE AND CATHERINE BAPTISTE, HIS WIFE, AND EDWARD B. AGAR AND EILEEN AGAR, HIS WIFE, PLAINTIFFS-RESPONDENTS,
v.
E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY; WILLIAM E. NEELD, JR., M.D., AND G.F. REICHWEIN, M.D., DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS, AND JOHNS-MANVILLE CORPORATION; OWENS-ILLINOIS, INC.; OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION; KEENE CORPORATION; CELOTEX CORPORATION; RAYBESTOSMANHATTAN CORPORATION; SEPCO CORPORATION; AMATEX CORPORATION; PHILIP CAREY COMPANY; UNITED ASBESTOS AND RUBBER COMPANY, A/K/A UNARCO; ARMSTRONG CONTRACTING AND SUPPLY CORPORATION; ACANDS INDUSTRIES, INC.; BIRD AND SONS, INC.; EAGLE-PICHER INDUSTRIES, INC.; FIBERBOARD CORPORATION; FIBERBOARD CORPORATION, PABCO DIV.; FORTY-EIGHT INSULATIONS, INC.; CHILDERS PRODUCTS COMPANY; GAF CORPORATION; PITTSBURGH CORNING CORP.; H.K. PORTER COMPANY; ROCK WOOL MANUFACTURING COMPANY; PHILADELPHIA ASBESTOS CORPORATION, D/B/A PACOR, INC.; SOUTHERN ASBESTOS COMPANY; DELAWARE INSULATION COMPANY; ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES, INC.; GARLOCK, INC.; J.W. ROBERTS, LTD., A DIVISION OF TURNER & NEWALL, LTD.; JOHN DOE CORPORATIONS (1-47); ALBINAS SMULKSTYS, M.D.; JOHN DOE(S), M.D., AND RICHARD ROE, M.D., DEFENDANTS. Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.
Argued May 31, 1988. Decided July 22, 1988. *576 Before Judges DREIER, BAIME and ASHBEY.
Thomas L. Morrissey argued the cause for appellants (Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey, attorneys; Thomas L. Morrissey and Rosemary Alito, of counsel; Silvio J. DeCarli and Kevin P. Duffy, on the brief).
David Jacoby argued the cause for respondents (Tomar, Seliger, Simonoff, Adourian & O'Brien, attorneys; David Jacoby, Joshua M. Spielberg and Esther Berezofsky, on the brief).
The opinion of the court was delivered by ASHBEY, J.A.D.
This appeal arises out of a Law Division trial following a remand from the Supreme Court. See Millison v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 101 N.J. 161 (1985). There the Court held that the New Jersey Workers' Compensation Act, N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et seq, precluded plaintiffs from maintaining a separate tort action against their employer E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (du Pont) and its physicians for failure to warn plaintiffs of the known risks of asbestos and their resulting asbestos-related medical conditions. The Court further held, however, that the exclusive remedy of N.J.S.A. 34:15-8 did not bar plaintiffs' tort claims for aggravation of those conditions, to the extent that such aggravation resulted from defendants' fraudulent concealment of them.
Following a five-week trial concerning those claims, a jury rendered verdicts in plaintiffs' favor;[1] the jury awarded compensatory damages for the following asserted periods of concealment as follows:
*577 Plaintiffs Amount Against Asserted period of Defendants Concealment by defendants as stipulated William Millison $25,000 du Pont and 1974-1979 Marie Millison 6,250 Dr. Neeld (per quod) Edward Agar 20,000 " " 1975-1979 Eileen Agar 5,000 (per quod) Vernon Kronmaier 60,000 du Pont and 1965-1977 Dr. Reichwein Dorothy Kronmaier 15,000 " " (per quod) Susan Schwebel 20,000 " " 1971-1975 (as executrix of the estate of Harold Schwebel). Clarence Schwebel 10,000 " " 1976-1978 Geraldine