Norris v. Crane Co., No. B196031, 2008 WL 638361 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. Mar 11, 2008) (unpublished).
In this California mesothelioma appeals case, the appellate court heard a case involving our client, who was the widow of a Navy vet who had contracted the disease and passed away as a result. The court upheld the lower court’s judgment in favor of the widow. Even though the defendant in the case did not manufacture products containing asbestos, it used equipment that had asbestos components.
Nelson v. Superior Court, 144 Cal.App.4th 689, 50 Cal.Rptr.3d 684 (Cal. App. 3 Dist. 2006).
This was another appellate win for Baron & Budd. This case involved our client, a water provider whose wells were contaminated with MTBE. The California appellate court held that the provider could pursue strict water liability claims against the refiners of the gasoline that contaminated the wells. This was allowed even though the provider was neither a consumer of the gasoline containing MTBE nor a user.
California Water Service Co. v. Dow Chemical Co., 2008 WL 4851234 (N.D.Cal. October 30, 2008) (slip copy)
This case also involved a client of ours that was a water provider. Chemical company discharge had contaminated the provider’s supply wells, and our client chose to sue the chemical company in California state court. The chemical company, however, attempted to have the case moved to federal court. The federal judge assigned to the case back to state court, ruling that this was permissible because not all of the claims were preempted by federal law.
Results depend on the facts of each case.