California Court of Appeal: Asbestos Cases

Our case-law library holds 270 asbestos decisions from the California Court of Appeal (1976–2024). Each links to our summary and the full opinion.

• State: California
• Kind of court: State appeals court

Decisions

• Foglia v. Moore Dry Dock Company (1st Appellate District, 2nd Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Moore Dry Dock against the Foglia plaintiffs, finding no admissible evidence that the decedent's father was exposed to asbestos at the shipyard, and awarded the company its appeal costs.
• Hake v. Allied Fluid Products Corp. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of nonsuit for Honeywell, holding Hake waived his Washington-law argument and could not prove under Kansas law that Bendix brake exposure was a substantial factor in causing his mesothelioma.
• Hart v. Keenan Properties, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment against Keenan Properties, holding the trial court abused its discretion in admitting a foreman's hearsay testimony about invoices, so the Harts lost their verdict of about $1.63 million.
• Hart v. Special Electric Company, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Special Electric Company, Inc., holding that Hart's claims were time-barred under Wisconsin's two-year post-dissolution claims period.
• Hubbard v. California Water Service Company (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for defendants California Water Service Company and San Jose Water Company after a defense jury verdict, rejecting the Hubbard heirs' challenges to the jury instructions and the sufficiency of the evidence.
• Alfaro v. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (Laosd Asbestos Cases) (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order that taxed all of Colgate-Palmolive's costs against plaintiff Alfaro, held Colgate entitled to its allowable costs under sections 1032 and 1033.5, and remanded for the trial court to decide which costs were reasonable and whether Colgate's section 998 offer was made in good faith.
• Marteney v. Elementis Chemicals Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed the wrongful death judgment for Marty Marteney's adult children against Elementis Chemicals, rejecting Elementis's claims that the judgment was void and that it was owed larger settlement credits.
• Rudolph v. Rudolph and Sletten, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for Rudolph and Sletten, Inc., holding that workers' compensation exclusivity barred Allen and Pamela Rudolph's tort claims after the demurrer was sustained without leave to amend.
• Trapp v. CertainTEED Corporation (6th Appellate District, 2018). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgments for CertainTeed and Calaveras on the negligence, premises liability and strict liability claims, but held both defendants entitled to summary adjudication on the warranty and retained-control claims, which the Trapp family had abandoned.
• Williams v. the Pep Boys Manny Moe & Jack OF California (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's rulings for Pep Boys that the wrongful death claims were time-barred and that punitive damages were not shown, but reversed the judgment because the trial court failed to award damages for home health care provided before the decedent's death and wrongly awarded Pep Boys expert fees under section 998, and remanded.
• Wittman v. Coty, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2018). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Coty, Inc. against John and Barbara Wittman because they lacked evidence that Barbara was exposed to asbestos in Coty's face powder, and their expert's declaration was properly excluded for lack of chain of custody.
• Alfaro v. Imerys Talc America Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for Colgate-Palmolive and Imerys Talc America, holding the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding plaintiff's expert's testing of vintage talc containers and his related exposure opinion.
• Beckering v. Shell Oil Company (2nd Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal, on remand from the California Supreme Court, reversed summary judgment for Shell Oil Company and remanded with directions to deny the motion, holding Shell owed Beckering a duty of care.
• City of Pasadena v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal granted the City of Pasadena's writ petition and directed the trial court to vacate its order overruling the City's demurrer and enter a new order sustaining it, defeating the Jaureguis' claim against the City.
• DeLOOF v. Ace Hardware Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for W.W. Henry Company and against the plaintiffs, the decedent's husband and son, because they had no evidence the decedent was exposed to an asbestos-containing product made by W.W. Henry.
• Duty v. Trz Realty, LLC (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment (nonsuit) for TRZ Realty, LLC after the trial court excluded plaintiffs' causation expert, remanded for further proceedings, and dismissed TRZ's consolidated appeal over expert fees as moot.
• Johnson v. ArvinMeritor, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for ArvinMeritor, Maremont and Carlisle, so Johnson lost his claims against them.
• Johnson v. Dock (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Moore Dry Dock, finding plaintiffs Richard and Marcella Johnson had no admissible evidence that Johnson was exposed to asbestos from the defendant's products.
• Lyons v. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Colgate-Palmolive, finding that plaintiff Mary Lyons raised a triable issue on whether Cashmere Bouquet talc contained asbestos.
• Paulus v. JM Manufacturing Co., Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying J-M Manufacturing's renewed motion, filed about three years after the settled wrongful death case was dismissed, to seal a privileged memorandum in the court file; the plaintiffs prevailed.
• Petitpas v. Ford Motor Company (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for Exxon Mobil, Ford and Rossmoor, rejecting plaintiffs' challenges to the summary adjudication for Exxon, the nonsuit for Rossmoor, the jury instructions on Ford, and the defense verdict for Exxon.
• Phillips v. Honeywell International Inc. (5th Appellate District, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of about $5.88 million, including $3.5 million in punitive damages, for Phillips's wife and children against Honeywell (successor to Bendix), rejecting all of Honeywell's claims of error.
• Saller v. Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 1st Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed the $3.6 million punitive damages award against Crown Cork & Seal for lack of evidence of its own ability to pay, and affirmed the rest of the judgment for Saller's wife and daughters.
• Sandoval v. American Appliance Manufacturing Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment and summary adjudication for AAMC on the Sandovals' negligence, strict liability, loss of consortium and punitive damages claims, affirmed as to the premises liability and warranty claims they had dismissed, and remanded.
• Stewart v. Union Carbide Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal affirmed judgment for Union Carbide, upholding summary adjudication that Janet Stewart's loss of consortium claim was barred by res judicata and the setoff of her husband's asbestos trust settlements against her entire economic damages award.
• Turley v. Familian Corporation (1st Appellate District, 2nd Division, 2017). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Familian Corporation and sent the case back, so the Turleys won the appeal and recovered their costs.
• Baeza v. Special Electric Company, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the defense judgment for Special Electric Company, rejecting the Baezas' claims of attorney misconduct in closing argument and of instructional and judicial error.
• Casey v. Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for John and Patricia Casey against Kaiser Gypsum, rejecting Kaiser Gypsum's appeal and the Caseys' cross-appeal over the reduction of punitive damages to just under $4 million.
• Davis v. Honeywell International Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment on the jury verdict for plaintiff Nickole Davis against Honeywell International Inc., holding that the trial court properly admitted the plaintiff's expert and properly refused Honeywell's proposed causation instruction.
• DePREE v. BASF Catalysts LLC (1st Appellate District, 5th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for BASF Catalysts, Eastern Magnesia Talc and Pita Realty, and the DePrees lost, because they showed only a possibility that Mr. DePree was exposed to asbestos-contaminated Emtal talc in Bondo.
• Gerlach v. Goodman Lumber Company (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Goodman Lumber Company and directed the trial court to vacate it, so plaintiffs (Charlifue's successor and wife) won a chance to proceed.
• Hanson v. Collins Electrical Co. (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Collins Electrical Company, holding Hanson raised a triable issue on medical monitoring damages despite having no lung impairment.
• Kordestani v. ExxonMOBIL Oil Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order dismissing plaintiffs' negligence claims against Exxon and remanded for further proceedings, and dismissed Exxon's cross-appeal on the choice-of-law ruling for lack of standing.
• Lepore v. Kelsey-Hayes Co. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment for Ford, Navistar and Kelsey-Hayes, finding triable issues on whether Lepore was exposed to asbestos from their products, and affirmed summary judgment for Gibbs International.
• Marquez v. Pac Operating Limited Partnership (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment for PAC Operating Limited Partnership after a jury trial, holding that the trial court properly excluded Anthony Marquez's late-disclosed theory that PAC's predecessor owned the Coalinga city site, and properly denied his new trial motion.
• Moran v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment for Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, which rested on a jury finding that Richard Moran was a sophisticated user, and remanded for retrial, with Moran recovering his appeal costs.
• O'leary v. Dillingham Construction NA, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 1st Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the summary judgment for Dillingham Construction and held that plaintiff Betty O'Leary's expert declaration was enough to raise a triable issue that the insulation contained asbestos.
• Rondon v. Hennessy Industries, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's summary judgment for Hennessy Industries, holding that Renee Rondon, suing for her late husband's mesothelioma, raised triable issues on strict liability and negligence.
• The Marley-Wylain Co. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2nd Appellate District, 1st Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal granted Marley-Wylain's writ petition and directed the superior court to vacate its order denying the motion and to grant the motion to apply Michigan law to Swanson's claims against Marley-Wylain.
• Untermann v. D. Zelinsky & Sons, Inc. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2016). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for painting contractor D. Zelinsky & Sons, Inc., against plaintiff Desin (succeeded on appeal by his daughter Cheryl Untermann).
• BNSF Railway Company v. Superior Court for County OF Los Angeles (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal granted BNSF Railway's writ petition and directed the trial court to vacate its denial of BNSF's motion to quash and to grant the motion, because California lacked general personal jurisdiction over BNSF; the Kralovetz family lost.
• Casey v. Dynalectric Company (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment for Dynalectric Company and remanded, holding that the plaintiffs (Casey's wife and daughters) raised a triable issue on whether Dynalectric breached a duty of care.
• Green v. CertainTEED Corporation (1st Appellate District, 3rd Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed the summary judgments for CertainTeed, Bucyrus, Terex and Shell, ruling that Texas causation law applied and the Greens did not meet it, and it upheld the denial of new trial motions against the Greens.
• Greenberg v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal granted the Greenbergs' writ petition and directed the trial court to vacate its summary judgment for Hennessy Industries and enter an order denying summary judgment and summary adjudication.
• Hellam v. Crane Co. (1st Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal vacated the amended judgment against Crane Co. and remanded for recalculation of the setoff for the Rheem settlement, which it held was a postverdict settlement; it otherwise rejected Crane's challenges to the settlement credits.
• Hernandezcueva v. EF Brady Company, Inc. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal reversed the nonsuit on the strict products liability claim against E. F. Brady, so the Hernandezcuevas won on that point and the matter was remanded. It affirmed the denial of a new trial and the rest of the judgment for E. F. Brady.
• Leidig v. Zenith Electronics LLC (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Zenith Electronics LLC and against the Leidig family, finding no triable issue that the decedent was exposed to asbestos from a Zenith product.
• Marteney v. Union Carbide Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of Union Carbide's and Elementis's motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, leaving the strict-liability judgment for Marie Marteney in place.
• Melendrez v. Ameron International Corporation (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Ameron International Corporation, holding the workers' compensation exclusive remedy barred the Melendrez family's wrongful death suit, and affirmed the $80,719 expert fee award to Ameron under section 998.
• Murat v. Exxon Mobil Corp. (2nd Appellate District, 4th Division, 2015). The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Exxon Mobil Corp. and SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., finding no triable issue that they breached a duty of care to Mr. Murat, and the daughters lost.