Michigan Court of Appeals Reverses Trial Court Decision on Wrongful Death Claim

LANSING, Mich.-The Michigan Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court that allowed plaintiffs to pursue an asbestos-related wrongful death suit against an insolvent supply firm despite the fact that the claim was filed more than a year after the company posted its notice of dissolution. Pettit v. Duro Supply Company, et.al., No. 238243 (Mich. Ct. App.).

In a per curiam opinion issued Dec. 18, the appeals court determined that the wrongful death claim filed on behalf of Leonard Pettit five years after defendant Duro Supply Company officially dissolved, is contingent and subject to Michigan's one-year statute of repose.