Calif. Appellate Court Affirms Nonsuit for Premises Defendant in Combined Direct and Secondary Exposure Asbestos Case

LOS ANGELES –– A California appellate court has affirmed a nonsuit in favor of an asbestos premises defendant, rejecting the plaintiffs’ “novel” theory that the decedent was not only exposed as an employee, but was also exposed in a secondary capacity by way of his own work clothing and the work clothing of his son.

In the Oct. 2 opinion, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal reiterated the state’s stance that a premises owner has no duty to protect an employee from secondary exposure to asbestos off the premises, writing that “to hold otherwise would impose limitless liability …