Stewart

Defendant and appellant Union Carbide Corporation appeals from the judgment entered against it and in favor of plaintiffs and respondents Larry R. Stewart and Janet Stewart, on the Stewarts’ complaint. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Summary

Larry Stewart worked as a plumber, or plumber’s apprentice, from 1968 until his diagnosis with mesothelioma in 2007. After his diagnosis, he sued Union Carbide (and others, who settled prior to trial) for fraud, negligence, and strict products liability on failure to warn and design defect theories. Janet Stewart, Larry Stewart’s wife, sued for loss of consortium. Plaintiffs sought punitive damages.

*26 At trial, Stewart testified that, throughout his career, he worked on large commercial and residential construction projects. He worked near drywallers on “just about every job.” Drywallers use joint compound, and plaintiffs presented evidence that during relevant time periods, joint compound contained asbestos which was released when the walls were sanded. Stewart testified that on most of the jobs he worked on, the drywallers used joint compound manufactured by a company called Hamilton Materials, though USG joint compound was…