Brumley

Plaintiffs’ decedent, William Brumley, filed suit several years ago in connection with alleged noncancerous asbestos injuries. Nearly four years after he filed suit, Brumley developed an asbestos-linked lung cancer and died. Thereafter, plaintiff Carol Brumley, his widow, was granted leave to file an amended complaint asserting wrongful death claims of her and her children and substituting herself as Brumley’s personal representative to assert survivorship claims.

After plaintiffs failed to secure a trial on the amended complaint within five years of the filing of the original complaint, their entire lawsuit was dismissed pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 583.310 and 583.360. Plaintiffs concede that the original noncancer survivorship claims are barred by the five-year rule, but they contend that the wrongful death claims, Mrs. Brumley’s loss of consortium claim, and the cancer survivorship claim should not have been dismissed. We agree and reverse as to those claims.

I. BACKGROUND

Brumley filed a complaint for asbestos injury on August 18, 2000. The complaint alleged several causes of action against a wide variety of defendants in an abbreviated form…