Managers and the Legal Environment 7th Edition by David Madsen, Constance Bagley

Exercise 1

Rochelle Black's husband worked as an auto mechanic in the Air Force from 1971 to 1986. When he died of lung cancer in 1991, Mrs. Black sued forty-eight asbestos manufacturers, alleging that her husband's death had been caused by his exposure to asbestos-containing products while working as an auto mechanic. She based her claims on market-share liability. Although she conceded that market-share liability would be inappropriate if she were alleging injury from exposure to many different types of asbestos products, she argued that she should be allowed to proceed in her market-share claims against four manufacturers of asbestos-containing "friction products," including brake and clutch products. These four companies produced friction products, that contained between 7% and 7.5% asbestos fibers. How should the court rule? What if the range of asbestos fibers in the products produced by the four companies was 40% to 60%? [Black v. Abex Corp., 603 N.W.2d 182 (N.D. 1999).]