Another California Court of Appeal Holds That Premises Owners Owe No Duty To Take-Home Asbestos Plaintiffs

A California Court of Appeal has added to the list of recent opinions dealing with the duty owed to take-home asbestos plaintiffs.  As we previously blogged, the California Supreme Court is set to decide two somewhat conflicting, but potentially reconcilable, California Court of Appeals decisions in take-home asbestos cases.  In Kesner, the appellate court imposed liability on manufacturers in take-home asbestos cases, and in Haver, the court held that premises owners have no duty to take-home asbestos plaintiffs.  The November 21, 2014 opinion in Beckering v. Shell Oil Company, available here, follows Haver’s lead and holds that the premises owner defendant, Shell Oil Company, owed no duty to the take-home plaintiff. 

Like the Haver Court, the Beckering court relied on Campbell v. Ford Motor Company in reaching its decision.  The Plaintiff in Beckering attempted to distinguish Campbell, arguing that Campbell applies only to the narrow situation in which the relative who brought home the asbestos was an independent contractor of the premises owner.  The Beckering court rejected this argument, noting that the Campbell Court specifically stated in a footnote that the independent contractor status of the relative was not the basis for the decision.

This is positive for premises owner defendants in take-home asbestos cases in the sense that Justice Aldrich did not create a Court of Appeals split on the issue of the duty owed by premises owners to take-home plaintiffs, but as the Beckering Court noted, the issue will not be resolved with any certainty until the California Supreme Court makes its decision.

(Hat Tips:  Legal Newsline and Torts Prof Blog).