Evidence of Working in 'Proximity' of Asbestos Sufficient to Defeat Summary Judgment

SAN FRANCISCO - A California appeals court has reversed a trial court award of summary judgment for a defendant whose products are the focus of a lawsuit filed by a Georgia-Pacific worker who could not say for sure whether he was ever directly exposed to asbestos. Blakenship v. NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc., No. A098895 (Calif. Ct. App., First Dist.).

The state's Fourth District Court of Appeal filed its opinion Feb. 28 holding that plaintiff Doyle Blakenship Jr. met the burden necessary to defeat summary judgment by providing testimony from two mechanics who worked near Blakenship and claimed they worked …