Nelson v. Flintkote Co.

Plaintiff Andrew Nelson, a victim of the progressive disease of asbestosis, appeals from an order of dismissal following the sus *730 taining of a demurrer without leave to amend to his second amended complaint for damages against defendant manufacturers of asbestos materials.

In this case we determine that Code of Civil Procedure section 340.2, 1 the special limitations statute for asbestos-related injuries, rather than section 340, subdivision (3), the general one-year tort limitations statute, properly applies to an asbestosis complaint filed after section 340.2’s effective date by a plaintiff who is not yet disabled but received an informed diagnosis of asbestosis more than one year before section 340.2’s enactment. We hold that section 340.2 properly applies to asbestosis victims, such as Nelson, whose complaints had not been adjudicated prior to its effective date. We, therefore, will reverse.

The allegations of the complaint which, on demurrer, are accepted as true establish that plaintiff was exposed to asbestos fibers and dust in his employment as a boiler inspector and operator from 1949 through 1956, and from 1963 to the present. In September 1976, a medical…