MDU Resources Group v. W.R. Grace & Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
14 F.3d 1274 (1994)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
In 1968, MDU Resources Group (MDU) (plaintiff) built a new office building. As part of the construction, MDU used Monokote, a fireproofing product manufactured by W.R. Grace & Company (Grace) (defendant). In 1980, MDU learned that Monokote contained asbestos. In 1988, MDU learned that the asbestos was contaminating the office building and needed to be removed immediately. MDU sued Grace, seeking payment for the removal costs. To prove that Grace knew of the dangers of asbestos in 1968 when the building was constructed, MDU sought to introduce a five-page packet stapled together. Grace’s insurer had given the packet to Grace. All pages in the packet except for the last page were dated 1967. The last page was a summary of a 1966 article entitled “Asbestosis.” The trial court ruled that MDU failed to establish the date that Grace received the fifth page. As a result, the court excluded the fifth page from evidence. MDU appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Arnold, C.J.)
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