Calif. Appellate Court Reverses Summary Judgment Award for Gasket Supplier in Asbestos Case

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California appellate court has reversed an award of summary judgment to a defendant named in an asbestos suit, finding that that the plaintiffs were not required to show that the defendant was the exclusive, or even primary, supplied of asbestos-containing gaskets to the plaintiff’s employer.

In the Dec. 22 opinion, the California First District Court of Appeal, Division 2, wrote that the testimony of one of the plaintiff’s co-workers was sufficient to demonstrate triable issues of material fact as to the alleged exposure to the defendant’s products.

The plaintiffs contended in their complaint that Keith Turley …