Chevron Must Defend, Indemnify Oil Co. For Asbestos Exposure Claims

HOUSTON — Pursuant to a stock purchase agreement (SPA), Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is obligated to defend and indemnify an oil company, El Paso Energy E.S.T. Co., for underlying asbestos exposure claims because the decedent worked for a company that was later bought by Chevron, a Texas federal judge has ruled.

In a May 25 order, Judge George Hanks Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that under the SPA, the specific locations of the platforms on which Fontenot worked are irrelevant.

Tenneco Oil Co. was a subsidiary of Tenneco Inc. In 1988, Tenneco …