Calif. Court Finds No Preconception Duty to Employee's Child But Allows Strict Liability Claim Against AMI

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A California appellate panel has reinstated a suit brought by a minor plaintiff alleging in utero injury from his father's exposure to mercury and other chemicals at an Applied Materials Inc. facility, saying that while the employer owed no preconception duty to the child, that factor was not fatal to the child's claim.

In published opinion issued Jan. 27, California’s Sixth Appellate District reversed a decision by the Santa Clara County Superior Court granting AMI's motion for summary adjudication and reinstated a single cause of action for strict products liability.

The appeal was brought by Zainab …