Pa. Court: Asbestos Successor Liability Law Unconstitutional

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a recently enacted state law limiting the liability of certain asbestos defendants when it is absorbed through a corporate merger is unconstitutional. Ieropoli v. AC&S Corp., No. 117 EM 2002 (Pa. Sup. Ct.).

In a ruling issued Feb. 20, the divided court determined that an asbestos plaintiff's accrued cause of action against a company whose liability is limited by the Statute is a vested right and cannot be extinguished by subsequent legislation. The court added that any statutory remedy aimed at reforming the asbestos litigation, which it said has taken …