This case is about second-hand exposure to asbestos under Tennessee law. The lower court ruled that a company has a duty to protect family members of employees against off-site exposure to asbestos, since such exposure is foreseeable.
There have been several recent cases involving this issue, and the NAM's amicus brief urges the Tennessee Supreme Court to join most of them in finding no duty by the company. The NAM joined six other organizations warning that expanding such a duty would lead to a new wave of asbestos litigation. The employer owes a duty of safety in the workplace, but not to distant third-parties whose potential claims are so remote.
On 9/9/08, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that, under Tennessee law, employers owed a duty to individuals who regularly over an extended period of time came into close contact with the asbestos-contaminated work clothes of its employees, to prevent them from being exposed to a foreseeable risk of harm. The court stated that this duty could extend to babysitters, carpool members, or domestic help, should they develop mesothelioma.