[B]Date Decided[/B]: Nov 17[SUP]th[/SUP], 2010
[B]Decided By[/B]: Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (State)
[B]Court[/B]: Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit
[B]Citation[/B]: 52 So.3d 240
[B]Background[/B]:
The surviving spouse and children (“Plaintiffs”) of Leon Roland Pichon(“Pichon”) filed a products liability action against numerous manufacturers,distributors and/or sellers of asbestos-containing products including DetroitDiesel Corporation (“DDC”).
Plaintiffs allege that Pichon was exposed to asbestos-containingproducts from 1954 to 2004 during his employment at Halter Marine (“Halter”),and that this exposure caused him to contract lung cancer and mesothelioma(diagnosed in September 2006), which caused his death in November 2006.
DDC filed a Motion for Summary Judgment to dismissPlaintiff’s claims. DDC argued that it could not have any liability for damagescaused by Pichon’s exposure to asbestos on the grounds that DDC did notexist prior to 1988, and that DDC has never manufactured any productscontaining asbestos.
The trial court granted DDC’s motion reasoning DDC could notbe held responsible for Pichon’s exposure under the theory of successorliability, and that no genuine issue of fact existed as to whether from thetime of DDC’s incorporation in 1988, they manufactured or sold anyasbestos-containing products to which Pichon could have been exposed.
Plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeal ofLouisiana.
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