Defendants May Add Bankrupt Defendants as Nonparties in Asbestos Suit, Court Rules

INDIANAPOLIS - A trial court erred when it refused to allow defendants leave to designate several bankrupt former manufacturers of asbestos-containing products as non-parties in an asbestos case, an appeals court in Indiana has ruled. Bondex International, et al. v. Ott, No. 02A03-0112-CV-412, No. 02D01-9911-CP-2074 (Ind. Ct. App., Third Dist.).

In a decision reversing the lower court's decision and granting the defendants' discretionary interlocutory appeal, the Third District Indiana Court of Appeals turned back claims that the allocation of fault to the bankrupt nonparties under the state's Comparative Fault Act results in liquidated claims and affects the debtors' property or …