State of New York Court of Appeals
The NFIB Legal Foundation joined other business groups in challenging a court ruling finding that an employer may be held liable for a non-employee spouse's personal injury from "secondary exposure" to asbestos. The appeal involves injuries allegedly sustained by the plaintiff as a result of laundering her husband's asbestos-contaminated clothes during the 30-year period he worked for New York's Port Authority. The New York intermediate appellate court denied the Port Authority's summary judgment motion, finding that the Port Authority owed the plaintiff a duty to guard against her risk of harm. See 786 N.Y.S.2d 26 (Dec. 2, 2004).
Extension of liability to third-party non-employees is extremely problematic for businesses in general--large and small. In addition, although this case concerns asbestos, legal experts are predicting that the theories advanced in asbestos litigation could easily be extended to silica exposures.
Status: DECIDED. Amici Curiae brief in support of the Port Authority filed Apr. 6, 2005. Court ruled in favor of Port Authority Oct. 27, 2005.
