Iowa Court of Appeals Reverses Summary Judgment Award to Brake Component Manufacturers

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Court of Appeals has reversed an award of summary judgment to two brake component manufacturers in an asbestos exposure action, ruling they are not shielded by Iowa Code Section 686B.7(5) because they, not third parties, manufactured the asbestos-containing products.

In an Aug. 31 order, the appellate panel rejected a trial court’s ruling that only mines, mills, or refineries could be held liable since they were the ones to initially make raw asbestos ore into a product.

Paul Fankhauser was employed with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) from 1968 to 2006, where he worked …