Calif. Court Reverses Summary Judgment Award; Says Grinders Contributed to the Hazard by Releasing Asbestos Dust in Brake Linings

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California appellate court has reversed an award of summary judgment to Hennessy Industries Inc., saying that the combined use of the defendant’s machines with asbestos brakes created the hazardous situation by releasing asbestos fibers in the air.

In the April 28 opinion, the California First District Court of Appeal further found that Hennessy “was in a position to provide safeguards from this exposure, and thus Hennessy should share liability for injuries resulting form the hazardous condition created by the use of its grinders in the 1950s and 1960s.”

“Hennessy’s products did not contain asbestos,” the court …