Porter Scott Secures Dismissal of County of Inyo in Wrongful Death Mesothelioma Action

Porter Scott obtained a dismissal for the County of Inyo in a wrongful death and survival action alleging asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. Plaintiffs sued numerous defendants, including several public entities, claiming that the decedent developed mesothelioma and died after exposure to asbestos over the course of his career as a laborer and pipe installer. As to the County, Plaintiffs alleged that decedent and/or his father were exposed to asbestos-cement pipe and asbestos-containing materials while working on a County public works project and that the County maintained a dangerous condition of public property by permitting that exposure to occur.

Porter Scott demurred to Plaintiffs' complaint on multiple occasions over the course of the litigation. Following the fourth round of amendment, the Alameda County Superior Court agreed with Porter Scott that Plaintiffs' allegations remained too vague, speculative, and conclusory to satisfy the heightened pleading standard required for statutory claims against public entities under the Government Claims Act. The Court specifically found that Plaintiffs failed to allege facts establishing that decedent performed the work at issue, failed to identify the location of the alleged hazard with sufficient particularity, and failed to establish that the County had actual or constructive notice of any dangerous condition. The Court sustained the County's demurrer to Plaintiffs' Fourth Amended Complaint without leave to amend, and the County has been dismissed from the action with prejudice, along with Plaintiffs' derivative loss of consortium claim.

This result follows closely on the heels of Porter Scott's recent dismissal secured on behalf of the City of Roseville in similar asbestos litigation, and reflects the firm's continued success in holding plaintiffs to the heightened, particularized pleading standard required to state a claim against a public entity — a standard that is especially critical as plaintiffs' counsel increasingly look to public entities as new targets in mesothelioma and asbestos litigation.

Congratulations to Porter Scott's public entity litigation team, led by Matt Gross and Colin Nystrom, on this significant victory for public entity Defendants.