HOUSTON - A legal malpractice lawsuit has been brought by a man with asbestosis who alleges the attorneys he hired botched his asbestos claim against Union Pacific Railroad.
Alleging gross negligence, James Chapoy filed suit against Jones Granger Attorneys at Law on July 11 in Harris County District Court, also naming Robert Tramuto and Bruce Halstead as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Chapoy was exposed to asbestos during his nearly 40 years of employment with UPR. He claims he had an attorney-client relationship with the defendants for years and was diagnosed with asbestosis while represented by them.
In 2014, an asbestos injury claim was submitted to UPR. Three years later the law firm entered into an agreement with UPR to settle around 587 claims. Chapoy’s claim, however, was not settled, as the firm notified the railroad that the claim would not be included in the settlement.
On May 19, 2020, a lawsuit was filed on Chapoy’s behalf against UPR seeking damages in excess of $5 million. UPR asserted the claim was barred by the statute of limitations and was granted summary judgment. The ruling was affirmed on appeal, court records show.
“After he was diagnosed with asbestosis, Defendants failed to timely commence his lawsuit, barring Plaintiff from making any recovery against, among others, Union Pacific Railroad and resulting in dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims against Union Pacific,” the suit states. “Today, Plaintiff struggles to simply breath and experiences… fatigue that will not be getting better with this progressive disease.”
The suit accuses the defendants of negligently failing to diligently represent Chapoy and is seeking actual and exemplary damages.
“Defendants … undoubtedly should have known that failing to take all steps necessary to protect and preserve Plaintiff’s ability to timely file suit would result in Plaintiff’s lawsuit against Union Pacific… being subject to dismissal,” the suit states.
Chapoy is represented by Cletus Ernster of the Ernster Law Firm and Lance Christopher Kassab of The Kassab Law Firm.
Case No. 2025-48360
