When U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch cited "abusive trial lawyers" to make the case for his proposed fix for the nearly 100,000 asbestos-related cases filed nationwide each year, one wonders if he was talking about his eldest son.
You see, Salt Lake attorney Brent Hatch has filed lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of plaintiffs allegedly harmed by the fibrous mineral.
Could he be mistaken for one of those attorneys who have hopped on the "gravy train" that the senior senator fears asbestos litigation has become?
He says no and doesn't believe his father, the veteran Republican senator from Utah, thinks so, either.
Brent Hatch laughs when asked if he favors his father's Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2003, which promises to decrease the need for attorneys in asbestos cases and to ensure the money would primarily go to victims.
"He didn't consult me on it, that's for sure," Brent Hatch says. In fact, the junior Hatch didn't learn of his father's proposed U.S. Court of Asbestos Claims until after the senator introduced the legislation two weeks ago.
"We're very close, obviously, as a father and son, but professionally we don't get into each other's business," he says. "This is a perfect example of that."
According to the multidistrict litigation panel assigned to handle most of the nation's asbestos cases, Brent Hatch is involved in 218 of Utah's 340 federal asbestos actions.
Since the announcement, Brent Hatch has received "tons" of telephone calls from people wondering how he feels about the bill. None of those phone calls, however, has been from the senator himself.
Father and son have yet to talk about the proposed bill — "I have not spoken the word 'asbestos' to him" — but Brent Hatch expects the two will chat about it someday when the senator is in town.
"At some point, he'll come out and we'll take a walk," and the subject will undoubtedly arise, Brent Hatch says.
Sen. Hatch, responding by e-mail to a request for a comment, said: "I'm very proud of my son. My son, who is former associate White House counsel under George Bush I, is recognized as one of the best lawyers in this country, and he's honest. . . . As usual, I'm going to do what I believe is right regardless of what family, friends or anyone else thinks."
It's clear the pending bill isn't terribly vexing to either father or son.
Brent Hatch doesn't fault his father for sponsoring the long-awaited legislation. To a point, he even agrees with him.
"The reality is, there are some people who overdo things in any business, but when you're talking about people with mesothelioma who can't breath and their whole lives have been destroyed and the only cause of it is asbestos . . . it's a little hard to say in every instance that this is a problem caused by lawyers."
Also, Brent Hatch points out that in the overall scheme of things, his cases don't scratch the surface of the total asbestos claims filed on behalf of 600,000 people in the past decade.
Indeed, Utah's 340 cases is small potatoes compared to the whopping 46,888 claims filed in the northern district of Ohio.
This isn't the first time the two Hatches have been on opposite sides of an issue.
Two years ago, Brent Hatch successfully challenged the use of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill his father sponsored in 1994.
The younger Hatch muses whether that win is a sign of future victories over his father.
"We were successful on that, so I guess Dad should watch out, huh?"
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com