R.I. Court Says Tennessee Substantive Law Should Govern Asbestos Claims

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– A Rhode Island court has found that Tennessee substantive law should apply to asbestos claims pending in the state, concluding that Tennessee’s contacts with the plaintiff “render it the better rule of law.”

In its Jan. 18 opinion, the Rhode Island Superior Court rejected the plaintiffs’ insistence that Virginia law was the proper substantive law to be applied.

Plaintiffs Harold Wayne Murray and Janice M. Murray filed the underlying complaint in January 2016, contending that Harold Wayne Murray was injured as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing products while working in plumbing and pipefitting, as an HVAC …