Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet hd-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Meredith — DANFS text: "The fourth Meredith"
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-meredith-dd890-pkt-hd-packet-md
-
[2]Josephine Banks v. 3M Company et al., No. 2:22-cv-06892 (C.D. Cal.), First Amended Complaint, ECF No. 126 (filed 2023-08-14); removed under 28 U.S.C. 1442; Nature of Suit 368 (P.I.: Asbestos); terminated 2024-03-27 [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 126 (First Amended Complaint) p.5, jobsite table row 'USS Meredith / DD-890' (RECAP doc 126.0)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage asbestos allegation naming this hull by hull number. The First Amended Complaint's jobsite table alleges decedent William Henry Banks 'was exposed to asbestos at jobsites which include but are not limited to' ten listed Navy sites; one row reads 'USS Meredith / DD-890' aligned to a 1970-1971 service window with job rating 'Machinist Mate' (other listed sites: USS Coral Sea CVA-43; USS Arcadia AD-23; USS Springfield CLG-7; USS Gompers AD-37; USS Marvin Shields DE-1066; USS Tarawa LHA-1; USS Dixie AD-14; San Diego Naval Shipyard; USS Robinson DDG-12). Wrongful-death action by the decedent's estate and heirs. The explicit 'DD-890' citation makes hull identification unambiguous - DD-890 was the only commissioned USS Meredith in 1970-71 (DD-434 and DD-726 were lost in 1942 and 1944). Document text verified (RECAP PDF, gov.uscourts.cacd.863700.126.0).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Alleged exposure 1970-1971; litigation 2022-2024
- Population
- William Henry Banks (decedent), USN Machinist Mate aboard DD-890 1970-1971 (alleged); estate/heirs plaintiffs
- Limitations
- Complaint-stage allegation - the vessel appears in a jobsite list 'include but are not limited to'; the exposure assertion is pleaded, not adjudicated. No asbestos product identification, quantity, onboard location, or causation is established for this hull. Case terminated 2024-03-27; the manner of disposition (settlement/dismissal/judgment) was not extracted from the docket this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-01
-
[3]Cobb v. United States, 471 F. Supp. 102 (M.D. Fla. 1979), bench-trial Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (Thomas, J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion findings paras. 1-4, 14, 22 and conclusions (471 F. Supp. 102-107)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal opinion naming this hull - classified OTHER LITIGATION (non-asbestos): an FTCA guest-cruise injury case in which 'USS MEREDITH was a destroyer of the United States Navy, in full commission, commanded by Commander Stanislaus G. Dyro,' underway from Naval Station Mayport 17 January 1976 'for regularly scheduled operations with the Select Reservist Crew aboard'; plaintiff Terry Cobb, a civilian guest, was injured when a 'freak' wave swept the port main deck. The court found the wave unforeseeable - 'the complaint will be dismissed and judgment entered in favor of the United States.' Documents this hull in active commission with an embarked Naval Reserve element, Mayport homeport, January 1976.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Incident 1976-01-17; opinion 1979-02-26
- Population
- USS Meredith (DD-890) crew and Select Reservist Crew; civilian guest plaintiffs
- Limitations
- No asbestos content - a maritime personal-injury adjudication (resolved for the defendant on foreseeability grounds). Carried as a verified ship-specific operational record for the late service period, not as exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-02
-
[4]DANFS, Meredith IV (DD-890) (builder, dates, service narrative through 1969; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; identical verbatim text also at globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-890.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: fourth Navy ship named for Marine Sgt. Jonathan Meredith (Barbary Wars); laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 27 January 1945; launched 28 June 1945 (sponsor Miss Juliette S. Kepper); commissioned 31 December 1945 (Comdr. W. B. Wideman). Specs: 2,425 t; 391 ft; 41 ft beam; 18'6" draft; 32 kt; cpl. 267; 6x5", 14x40mm, 10x21" tt; class Gearing. Service: 1946 shakedown, New London submarine-officer training, Randolph plane guard, Newfoundland/Greenland; 1947 western Atlantic; Operational Development Force tests early 1948; DesRon 6 first deployment May 1948; annual spring Mediterranean 6th Fleet rotations through 1953 with 2d Fleet work including Arctic maneuvers November 1949; Norfolk Naval Shipyard habitability conversion 7 January 1953 into November; 1958 Middle East Force standby with HMS Loch Fyne after the Iraqi revolution; DesRon 14 reassignment late 1959; FRAM at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 28 June 1960 for 1 year 2 days - bridge enclosed, torpedo deck modified for ASROC, 3-inch battery replaced by DASH helicopter hangar and flight deck; new homeport Mayport 1 July 1961; Caribbean/West African goodwill cruise with oceanographic surveys returning 18 February 1962; August 1962 deployment (Middle East Force 14 October-1 December, then Mediterranean); Project Gemini recovery operations November 1965; narrative closes 'into 1969' rotating between Mediterranean and western Atlantic duty.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1969
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1945; postwar/Cold War crew (design complement 267)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Narrative ends in 1969 - post-1969 service (including the reported 1969 WestPac/Vietnam tour), decommissioning, and disposition are not covered by this entry. Live NHHC page returned 404; verbatim hazegray transcription (DANFS Online Project archive) cited per batch convention.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History Destroyer Photo Index, USS Meredith (DD-890) page + NavSource FRAM Special Feature (archival photo documentation and operational data compilation; Turkish-service names also at navalcovermuseum.org MEREDITH DD 890) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/890.htm operational-data block + CO list + photo captions; navsource.org/archives/05/helpers/fram.htm (USS Meredith section; FRAM-by-yard table)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photographic and compilation record for this hull: NavSource ship data - machinery 60,000 SHP, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws, 36.8 kt, crew 336; laid down 27 January 1945, launched 28 June 1945, commissioned 31 December 1945; 'Completed FRAM upgrade June 1961'; decommissioned 29 June 1979; stricken 7 December 1979; to Turkey 29 June 1979, renamed Savastepe; stricken (Turkish) late 1994; broken up for scrap March 1995. NavSource FRAM feature documents DD-890 in Philadelphia Navy Yard drydock 2 with USS Noa (DD-841) on 24 August 1960 and 16 February 1961, and its FRAM-by-shipyard table lists '890 Meredith, Philadelphia, 06/61' under the Gearing Mark I column. Call sign NBIO; tactical voice call sign 'RELENTLESS' (circa 1968). Separately, secondary compilations (Wikipedia; crew-reported hullnumber.com deployment list) place DD-890 on a 1969 WestPac/Vietnam tour - South China Sea coastal bombardment and plane guard over roughly six months, with diversion to the post-EC-121-shootdown task force off Korea - plus Mediterranean rotations 1970-72, a regular overhaul Feb-Jul 1968 and drydock Jun-Nov 1971 (crew-reported); none verified against an official record this session.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1995
- Population
- Crew 1945-1979; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard FRAM workforce 1960-61; Turkish Navy crew 1979-1994
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations and volunteer-curated photo archive, not an official register - disposition and post-1969 dates rest on NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum (a philatelic-museum wiki) and Wikipedia; the Vietnam deployment is corroborated only across non-official sources. The FRAM photographs are contemporaneous ship-specific documentation of the 1960-61 Philadelphia yard period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-04
-
[6]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [court_record]
- Locator
- Omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (OCR of scanned ECF 171), per class-profile verification 2026-09-16
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Published federal omnibus opinion recites class-level product documentation: 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths,' and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' DD-890 is a Gearing-class destroyer sharing the Sumner machinery design (14-ft hull-plug lengthening, same plant) - class-level context for the insulation products this hull's era/design implies.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s design era; opinion filed 2018-09-28
- Population
- Destroyer fire/engine-room crews, Sumner/Gearing classes; litigation expert materials
- Limitations
- Litigation-record recital of an expert report and a Navy engineering drawing - not an adjudicated classwide quantity, not a hull inventory, and not a finding about DD-890; the opinion treats some related exposure conclusions as speculative. Underlying exhibits (drawing, report) not retrieved from RECAP; recital carried per the 2026-09-16 Gearing class-profile verification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-05
-
[7]Consolidated era inference - DANFS/NavSource machinery record (4 B&W superheated boilers; 2-shaft GE geared turbines; 60,000 shp) + documented yard events (Norfolk NSY 1953; Philadelphia NSY FRAM I 1960-61) + Goodrich class-drawing recital + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications/narrative; NavSource machinery data; Goodrich ECF 171 recital (ev-05); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built January-December 1945 at Consolidated Steel, Orange, Texas, with a four-boiler superheated steam plant at the peak of Navy asbestos use would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and accommodation fireproofing/deck coverings. Two Navy-yard periods are documented for this hull - the January-November 1953 habitability conversion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the June 1960-June 1961 FRAM I modernization at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - the kind of machinery-space-disturbing yard work under which GAO records era insulation was removed only when damaged or required for repairs, making yard periods the era's principal disturbance events.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1979
- Population
- Consolidated Steel trades 1945; crew 1945-1979; Norfolk NSY workers 1953; Philadelphia NSY FRAM workers 1960-61
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-event inference only - the ship-specific anchor for this hull is ev-01 (Banks pleading); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure. The 1953 'habitability conversion' scope (which compartments/systems) is not documented in DANFS beyond the label.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (description text)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Context for DD-890's original 1945 material set persisting through her service life and into Turkish custody (1979).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403) - content via product-page description. Does not document DD-890's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-07
-
[9]NARA Navy deck-log digitization program page (Vietnam-era deck logs scanned via VA partnership for the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019); NHHC command-history (OPNAV 5750-1) holdings; Goodrich underlying exhibits [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov deck-log program page; Goodrich ECF 171 recital; NARA RG19 (unverified for this hull)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not pulled this session: (1) NARA deck logs for USS Meredith (DD-890) - Vietnam-era logs are within the VA-scanned Blue Water Navy digitization and post-1969 deck logs would document the reported 1969 WestPac tour, yard periods, and reservist-crew era; (2) NHHC command histories/OPNAV Report 5750-1 submissions for this hull; (3) the underlying Goodrich exhibits (the Sumner/Gearing forced-draft-blower insulation drawing and the expert insulation-tonnage report) identified in the class profile but not in the RECAP index - PACER/NARA retrieval pending; (4) Consolidated Steel contract/specification records for this hull via NARA RG19 material specifications.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- n/a
- Population
- n/a - archival lead
- Limitations
- Leads only - existence of the record series verified (NARA program page; class-profile exhibit identification), individual documents not retrieved or reviewed. Nothing in this row is a finding about asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-28 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-meredith-dd890-04 through -07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results for this hull: 'USS Meredith' (type=o) - 1 hit, Cobb v. United States (M.D. Fla. 1979) = OTHER LITIGATION (non-asbestos FTCA, this hull); 'USS Meredith' (type=r) - 1 hit, Josephine Banks v. 3M (C.D. Cal. 2:22-cv-06892) = QUALIFYING asbestos docket naming DD-890 at pleading stage (ev-01); 'DD-890' (type=r) - 22 hits, Banks plus 21 coincidental document-number/citation matches in unrelated civil dockets (name collisions, reviewed); 'DD-890' (type=o) - 1 hit, Hart v. United States (N.D. Fla. 1988) = coincidental match, Vietnam MIA-remains case, no vessel (name collision). Bare-'Meredith' queries are high-collision (persons, places, and three earlier Navy hulls DD-165/DD-434/DD-726).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Research date 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a - sweep record
- Limitations
- Sweep completeness limited by fleet pacing budget: the Banks docket-entry pull (merits disposition beyond 2024-03-27 termination) and a 'aboard the Meredith'/'Meredith asbestos' opinion sweep were queued but not executed before session budget exhaustion - logged as pending rather than retried into a ban. RECAP coverage is incomplete for many courts; absence of additional hits is not proof of absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-09
-
[11]Search-ledger synthesis (see search_ledger): NHHC live 404; NVR unpopulated for pre-1987 disposal; no BuShips material schedule, ACM survey, abatement disclosure, or scrapping hazmat record located; law-firm ship lists naming DD-890 excluded as non-authoritative [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-meredith-dd890-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding recorded: beyond the Banks pleading-stage allegation, no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located - no BuShips material schedule or contract specification for DD-890, no ACM inventory or survey, no abatement disclosure (including any hazmat component of the 1953 Norfolk conversion, the 1960-61 Philadelphia FRAM I rebuild, the 1979 Turkish transfer, or the 1995 scrapping), and no adjudicated exposure finding. The live NHHC DANFS page serves 404 and the NVR does not populate pre-1987 disposals. Plaintiff-firm 'asbestos ship' web lists name USS Meredith DD-890 but are marketing sources - excluded per batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Research date 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a - negative finding
- Limitations
- Absence of located documentation is not evidence of absence aboard - it records the limits of this session's search under a shared CourtListener pacing budget and blocked GAO full-text access. See search_ledger for repositories and queries.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-meredith-dd890-10