Supreme Court of California

In an action brought by a plaintiff suffering from mesothelioma alleging exposure to asbestos from boilers manufactured by defendant, court of appeals judgment finding that California law applied to the case is reversed where: 1) Oklahoma's interest would be more impaired if its laws were not applied under the circumstances of the case than would be California's interest if its statute of limitations is not applied; and 2) on remand, the court must address plaintiff's additional contention that the trial court erred in finding that the boiler in question constituted an improvement to real property within the meaning of the relevant Oklahoma statute of repose.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/18/2010
• Published 02/18/2010

Judges

• GEORGE, C.J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Waters & Kraus, Waters Kraus & Paul, Paul C. Cook and Michael B. Gurien for Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, Frederick D. Baker; Gordon & Rees and James G. Scadden for Defendant and Respondent., National Chamber Ligation Center, Inc., Robin S. Conrad; Shook, Hardy & Bacon and Patrick J. Gregory for American Tort Reform Association, Coalition for Litigation Justice, Inc., Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, American Chemistry Council, American Insurance Association, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, National Association of Manufacturers and the State Chamber of Oklahoma as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent., Fred J. Hiestand for The Civil Justice Association of California as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent., Gordon & Rees, Michael Pietrykowski and Don Willenburg for Ingersoll-Rand Company and Leslie Controls, Inc., as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.