Damages for California Builder Are Upheld
An $18 million punitive damages award for a Southern California builder exposed to dust from drywall compound containing asbestos who later contracted mesothelioma has been upheld by a state appeals court.
According to an article in The National Law Journal, Bobbie Izell built 200 houses between 1964 and 1994. His company used drywall compound that contained asbestos provided by Union Carbide Corporation, and he contracted the disease, a deadly form of cancer, after breathing sanding dust.
Izell didn’t work as a laborer or supervisor, but he did visit job sites regularly, court documents said. His workers used various brands of drywall compound to cover nail heads and to fill seams before sanding by hand.
Union Carbide argued that the award was based on insufficient evidence or that the punitive damages were “unconstitutionally excessive,” the journal reported. Late last month, however, the state’s 2nd District Court of Appeal disagreed, ruling not only that the award was fair but that Union Carbide had “acted with a reprehensible indifference to the health and safety of others.”
Evidence showed that Union Carbide knew of the health risks associated with the product but failed to warn its customers.
Union Carbide’s parent company, Dow Chemical Co., said that it was disappointed in the ruling and would appeal to the California Supreme Court.
“While UCC feels sympathy for Mr. Izell and his family, UCC is extremely disappointed in the decision and believes that the jury’s verdict, and the 2nd District’s affirmance of it, was based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of California law on the issues of causation, comparative fault and punitive damages,” the company said.
The use of asbestos in joint compound was banned in 1977.
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission prohibited the use of asbestos in joint compound in 1977, so if you're repairing drywall that was installed before then (or that was taped using the older compound), you may be exposing yourself to asbestos.
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