Contractor Defendant Seeks High Court Review of 3rd-Party Duty Dispute

NEW ORLEANS - A construction contractor seeking a writ of certiorari from Louisiana's Supreme Court has asserted that lower courts erred in finding that the contractor owed a duty of care to non-employees in the mid-1970s concerning household exposure to asbestos. Chaisson, et al. v. Avondale Industries Inc., et al., No. 2007-C-411 (La. Sup. Ct.).

In a March 22 reply brief in support of its application for the writ, H.B. Zachry Co. says that review by the state's highest court is necessary because issues of duty relating to contractor-employers in third-party exposure cases are novel and unsettled issues of law …