Calif. Court Dismisses Market-Share Liability Asbestos Claims, Allows Plaintiffs to Amend

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California federal court has dismissed a claim for market-share liability in an asbestos case without prejudice, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to identify the specific type of product that would support an assertion of fungibility.

In the Dec. 5 order, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California gave the plaintiffs 30 days to amend their complaint, explaining that no court has allowed a plaintiff to plead a market-share liability claim “without identifying the specific type of product just by conclusorily alleging that the relevant products are ‘fungible.’”

Plaintiff Gary Farris filed the …