Quiroz v. Alcoa, Inc.

In October 2014, Ernest V. Quiroz died from mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure. Quiroz’s surviving wife, children, and parents (the family) (plaintiffs) filed suit against Reynolds Metal Company, Alcoa, Inc., and Reywest Development Company (Reynolds) (defendant), alleging that Reynolds negligently caused Quiroz’s death by failing to protect Quiroz from second-hand asbestos exposure. Quiroz lived with his father as a minor from 1952 to 1970. Quiroz’s father had worked at a plant owned by Reynolds from 1948 until 1983. Quiroz’s father worked with asbestos, and his clothes were contaminated with asbestos fibers. When Quiroz’s father came home, Quiroz was exposed to the asbestos fibers on his father’s clothes. The family alleged that Reynolds breached their duty to protect Quiroz from take-home asbestos by failing to warn his father about the dangers of secondary asbestos exposure, failing to provide his father with safety equipment, and failing to take necessary safety measures to protect Quiroz from exposure. The family argued that the court should recognize a duty based on § 7 and § 54 of the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm (Third Restatement), which provided that a duty exists for landowners for artificial conditions or conduct on the land that poses a risk of potential harm to persons not on the land.