Court Finds Statute of Repose for Engineers Inapplicable to Occidental’s In-House Design

HOUSTON —A Texas appellate court has reinstated a jury award in favor of a worker injured at a site formerly owned by Occidental Chemical Corp. (NYSE: OXY), rejecting the company’s argument that a 10-year statute of repose for claims against licensed engineers applied to Occidental’s in-house design of a production system.

The Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas also ruled July 2 that an alternative statute of repose for anyone who “constructs or repairs an improvement to real property” was inapplicable, as well.

Jason Jenkins sued Occidental for negligence after an accident in which acid was sprayed …