Mass Torts: State of the Art : Mass Torts Lawyer & Attorney : Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease Law Firm : Toxic Torts & Wrongful Death

“He whose stuff it is must keep it that it may not trespass.” So said Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, in the case of Tenant v. Goldwin in 1704. (1704) 2 Lord Raymond’s Reports (Ld Raym) 1089, 1 Salkeld’s King’s Bench Report 21, 360. Chief Justice Holt was addressing the escape of “filth” from one property into another, and the cause of action for the damages caused by the “filth.” There is some dispute whether the cause of action sounded in trespass (Salkeld) or in private nuisance (Raymond). However, most scholars agree that the modern concept of strict liability traces its origins to Chief Justice Holt’s decision.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Ohio in effect resoundingly rejected the principal in Tenant v. Goldwin. In a 5-1 decision, the Court in Boley v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. upheld and applied ORC 2307.941(A)(1), a “tort reform” provision enacted by the General Assembly in 2005. The court found that the statute bars tort claims based on “take home” exposure from a workplace where the exposure takes place away from the property owner’s premises. The statute does not address liability of products liability defendants for take home exposures. In her concurring opinion, Justice O’Connor noted that a different provision in the 2005 asbestos litigation reform bill, R.C. 2307.92(D)(2), provides a legal basis for asserting wrongful death claims against defendants other than the premises owner for take-home exposure of family members to occupational asbestos. The Supreme Court of Ohio’s announcement of the decision, written opinion, and a video of the oral argument before the Court can all be found here.

Sadly, it does not appear that the Court or the parties in Boley were concerned with the effect of the statute on Chief Justice Holt’s tort law legacy.

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Judge Mark Davidson, who presides over the Texas asbestos MDL denied summary judgment on the issue of whether a duty exists for take-home exposure to the spouse of a defendant’s employee. In Carrie Ramsey v. Borg Warner Morse Tec. Inc., et al, he issued a letter ruling in which he determined that DuPont owed a duty to the spouse of one of its workers who developed mesothelioma.

The plaintiff’s ex-husband had worked at a DuPont facility from 1964 to 1974. He worked as an operator and later as a supervisor who patrolled the plant, and worked in various areas during startups and shutdowns as needed. He did not work hands-on with any asbestos products but worked around those who did. Plaintiff laundered, on a daily basis, the clothes her ex-husband wore home his from DuPont. Before she placed his clothes in the washing machine she would shake the dust off his clothes, which she breathed. She was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2008.

According to Judge Davidson’s ruling, documents produced by DuPont indicated that DuPont knew of the dangers of asbestos by the early 1960s. DuPont knew of a link between small exposures to asbestos and cancer by June 2, 1966. A 1964 DuPont document authored by the director of DuPont's Haskell Laboratory for Toxicology and Industrial Medicine stated that cases of mesothelioma could be caused by "exposure to dust brought home by relatives working with asbestos.” This report also identified three types of exposures to asbestos that are recognized as leading to an increase of mesothelioma: 1) factory workers manufacturing asbestos textiles; 2) insulating materials; and 3) “exposure to dust brought home by relatives working with asbestos.”

A DuPont document dated May 21, 1968 detailed DuPont’s knowledge of asbestos dangers and that “Wives and children of asbestos workers are also being involved because of the dust laden clothes a man wears home at night.”

In his ruling, Judge Davidson stated that the evidence in this case went far beyond that in Behringer v. Alcoa in which the Dallas Court of Appeals held Alcoa owed no duty to an employee’s spouse who developed mesothelioma. Davidson stated the following:

“If this isn’t enough evidence to comply with Behringer, I really can’t imagine what is. Mr. Ramsey’s exposure continued for six years following the time interval DuPont documents show they were aware of the dangers to its employees’ families. The Behringer case held that the [sic] Alcoa had no knowledge of the dangers of household exposure in the 1950s, and that no duty existed in the absence of that knowledge. In this case, there is some evidence that the Defendant knew as early as 1964 and certainly by 1968. Exposure continued until 1974."

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