Court Upholds Premises Verdict Against Exxon, Amends Allocation of Fault

BATON ROUGE, La. - A Louisiana appeals court has upheld a jury's finding that a premise owner had a duty to prevent the asbestos-related injury and death of a former refinery worker, but altered the damages assessed against the defendant in proportion to the number of additional defendants that settled prior to trial. Roberts v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., et al., No. 2003 CA 0248 (La. Ct. App., First Cir.).

In an opinion issued April 2, the First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal apportioned 21 percent of the fault for plaintiff Wesley Roberts Jr.'s wrongful death to Exxon Corp., which owned …