Pittsburgh, Pa. (February 25, 2020) - On February 19, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a long awaited opinion in the matter of Roverano v. John Crane, Inc., No. 26 EAP 2018, No. 27 EAP 2018 (Pa. 2020). The Court's opinion is a must-read for anyone involved in asbestos litigation in Pennsylvania.
In Roverano, the Court ruled that Pennsylvania's Fair Share Act (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102) does not preempt Pennsylvania common law favoring per capita apportionment of liability to strict liability defendants. In addition, the Court ruled that bankruptcy trusts, that are either joined as third-party defendants or that have entered into a release with the plaintiff, may be included on the verdict sheet for purposes of liability.
In this case, Mr. Roverano sued 30 defendants in strict liability and Defendant Crane filed a joinder complaint against Johns-Manville Personal Injury Trust. The case proceeded to trial against eight defendants in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. At trial, some of the defendants filed motions in limine seeking a ruling that the Fair Share Act applied to asbestos cases. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that asbestos exposure cannot be quantified, and held that that it would apportion liability on a per capita basis consistent with the Court's opinion in Baker v. AC&S, 755 A.2d 664 (Pa. 2000).
On appeal, the Superior Court held that the jury must apportion liability as to each defendant in strict liability cases, according to their percentage of liability, and not on a per capita basis. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Mundy, reasoned that the Act does not define the basis of how to determine the proportion of liability among multiple defendants in strict liability cases and does not abrogate common law apportionment as set forth in Baker. It also noted that experts agree it is impossible to apportion liability among defendants for a single indivisible injury in asbestos cases. Thus, the Act requires that liability be apportioned equally among strictly liable joint tortfeasors.
In allowing the bankruptcy trusts to be included on the verdict sheet, the Court reasoned that Congress confirmed that a Chapter 11 asbestos debtor's reorganization plan creates a trust for the payment of the debtor's present and future liability. Further, the Fair Share Act allows apportionment of liability of defendants and non-parties who have entered into a release with the plaintiff. 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a.2). Therefore, as a result, the Court remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether the proofs submitted by the defendants were sufficient to present the question of the bankrupt entities liability to the jury.
In his dissenting opinion, Justice Saylor disagreed with the majority's opinion that the apportionment of liability was impossible in asbestos cases, and stated his belief that the legislature intended to allow for allocation by fault in all cases. In his concurring opinion, Justice Wecht stressed that evidence of liability concerning a bankrupt entity is required in order to include the settling bankruptcy trust on the verdict sheet.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
