AN 81-year-old Queensland man ? who has just months to live ? has launched a cross-continental lawsuit against multiple former United Kingdom and Australian employers over his asbestos-related death sentence. Ronald Roberts, a widowed father-of-three from Redcliffe, on Brisbane's northern outskirts, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June. His solicitor Roger Singh from Shine Lawyers, who recently filed the extraordinary action in the Victorian Supreme Court, hopes the court grants his application for a speedy trial in the light of his client's failing health. Doctors have told Mr Roberts, who regularly came into contact with asbestos products in his 50-year career as a pipe fitter, that his condition is so advanced that he could be dead by Christmas. The case is considered unusual because it involves four employers across two different countries spanning back to the 1940s.