"New York Court of Appeals Decides for Mesothelioma Victim and Against Chevron", 19 Mar 2019

The family of a seaman who died of malignant mesothelioma has won the right to pursue legal action nearly two decades after he signed a release in a case he filed against Texaco for another asbestos-related illness. Mason South had worked as a merchant marine from 1945 to 1982, and during that time he worked aboard ships owned by Texaco, which was later purchased by Chevron...In 1997 he had been part of a lawsuit filed against Texaco and dozens of other companies for having exposed workers to asbestos: at the time he had been diagnosed with a non-malignant asbestos-related disease, and at that time in exchange for a part of an agreed-to settlement, he signed a release against future legal actions...

Nearly 20 years later he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and filed suit against Chevron, which filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that they were protected by the previously signed release. The Supreme Court of New York denied this motion, and the Court of Appeals affirmed this decision...