New York Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of asbestos claims against LCBF client

In Nostrom v. A.W. Chesterton, 15 N.Y.3d 502 (2010), aff'g, 59 A.D.3d 159 (1st Dep't 2009), LCBF won an affirmance from the Court of Appeals of an Order dismissing the asbestos personal injury claims brought on behalf of a former construction worker against our client, Bechtel.  The Court of Appeals rejected plaintiff's attempt to hold Bechtel vicariously liable as the alleged general contractor under Labor Law §241(6) based on purported violations of Part 12 of the Industrial Code, which contains regulations relating to "dangerous air contaminants."  Resolving a split of authorities in the Appellate Division, the Court of Appeals held that a §241(6) strict liability claim against owners or general contractors must be based upon alleged violations of regulations found in Part 23. LCBF successfully argued, in part, that any attempt by plaintiffs to rely upon regulations outside Part 23, if successful, would retroactively engineer a drastic expansion of the statutory non-delegable duty of owners and contractors to workers alleging latent injuries due to asbestos exposure.  The LCBF team was headed by Bill Ballaine, who argued the appeals, and Mark Landman.