Ohio Supreme Court
The subject appeal gets to the issue of how far back a supplier defendant may be subject to strict liability. In Dicenzo, the Ohio appellate court found that a supplier may be strictly liable for any asbestos product sales after June 1966. The court's decision to set 1966 as the trigger year to begin strict liability for suppliers--rather than 1977--has enormous practical importance. By 1977, asbestos exposure was being heavily regulated by OSHA; in 1966, asbestos sales were much greater. Furthermore, strict liability causes the non-manufacturer supplier or distributor to defend the product of a manufacturer, whereas absent a strict liability claim, the supplier/distributor defendant is defending a negligence claim, which is based upon that company's own conduct, which is a fairer and clearly more defensible position. Finally, the bankruptcy filings of almost all former manufacturers will make it likely that plaintiffs will begin targeting solvent non-manufacturing suppliers if a claim can easily be brought.
Status: PENDING. Amicus brief filed in support of A-Best Products petition for review Aug. 31, 2007. Court accepted review Dec. 26, 2007. Merits briefs due in Spring 2008.
