Purging of fear-of-cancer damages would reduce `jackpot verdicts'.

One of the factors supporting huge verdicts for asbestos victims could be diminished if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a multimillion-dollar jury award to six former railroad workers.

Attorneys representing Norfolk & Western Railway urged the justices Nov. 6 to overturn a $4.9 million award, an unspecified part of which represented emotional damages the men sought for compensation for their fear of developing lung cancer. They had developed asbestosis from their exposure to asbestos dust while on the job.

In the case, Norfolk & Western Railway Company v. Ayers, et al (No. 01-963), that was tried in ...