Products Liability Law Reporter

From 1967 to 1971, Donald Foret worked as an insulator at Main Iron Works, a Louisiana shipyard. He was exposed to asbestos-containing products, including gaskets, during the course of his work in boiler rooms. At age 69, he was diagnosed as having mesothelioma. Despite treatment, he died of his disease 18 months later. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.

His family sued Main Iron Works, alleging negligence and strict liability for the defendant’s failure to warn of the dangers of asbestos exposure. The plaintiffs claimed more than $451,200 in lost earnings for Foret, who planned to work until age 75, and medical expenses exceeding $461,200.

The jury awarded approximately $5.48 million.

Citation: Foret v. Taylor-Seidenbach, Inc., No. 2015-9079 (La. Dist. Ct. Orleans Parish Oct. 23, 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Frank J. Swarr and Philip C. Hoffman, both of New Orleans.

Plaintiff experts: Richard Kradin, pulmonary pathology, Boston; Thomas Selders, industrial hygiene, Austin, Texas; and Randolph Rice, forensic economics, Baton Rouge, La.

Defense expert: Sheldon Rabinovitz, industrial hygiene, Potomac, Md.

Comment: In Rublee v. Carrier Corp., 428 P.3d 1207 (Wash. 2018), Vernon Rublee died of mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos products, including insulation cement, while working as a machinist at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard between 1966 and 1980. Before his death, he sued Pfizer, Inc., whose subsidiary manufactured the insulation cement products to which he was exposed, alleging the company was liable as an apparent manufacturer. The defendant moved successfully for summary judgment, and an intermediate appellate court affirmed. Reversing and remanding, the Washington Supreme Court held that for cases predating the 1981 Washington Product Liability Act, the state will adopt the apparent manufacturer doctrine of §400 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, which provides that, “One who puts out as his own product a chattel manufactured by another is subject to the same liability as though he were its manufacturer.” Applying the doctrine, the court found that fact issues remained as to whether a reasonable consumer would have believed Pfizer was the manufacturer of the asbestos products that led to Rublee’s death. The plaintiff, and later his surviving wife and estate, were represented by AAJ member Matthew P. Bergman, AAJ member Chandler H. Udo, AAJ member Colin Mieling, AAJ member Justin Olson, and Leonard Feldman, all of Seattle. Amici curiae counsel were AAJ member Jeffrey L. Needle, Seattle; AAJ member Robert S. Peck, Washington, D.C.; and Daniel E. Huntington and Valerie Davis McOmie, both of Spokane, Wash.