Texas Court Throws Out $9 Million Verdict; Says Chapter 95 Applicable to Plaintiffs’ Bystander Claims

DALLAS –– A Texas appellate court has reversed a $9 million asbestos verdict entered against The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE:DOW), ruling that, under Chapter 95, the plaintiffs should not have been permitted to bring bystander exposure claims since that exposure arose from the same work completed by the decedent.

In the Feb. 8 ruling, the Texas 5th District Court of Appeals rendered a take-nothing judgment against the plaintiffs, after opining that Chapter 95 “makes no distinction between harm precipitated by the activity of a contractor and harm precipitated by activity of another.”

The underlying claims involve the alleged exposure …