Sales v. Weyerhaeuser Co.

Case Updates

The Washington Supreme Court reversed the appeals court’s determination on the inadequacy of the federal forum, and remanded the case to the trial court for a determination of the possible effects of transferring the litigation to another forum.

NCLC urged the Washington Supreme Court to reverse the court of appeal’s determination that the federal forum was inadequate for resolving plaintiff’s asbestos claims. In reversing the trial court’s dismissal of the case on forum non conveniens grounds, the court of appeals held that the case could only be dismissed if the defendant waived its right to remove the case to federal court. In support of this position, the court of appeals noted that the federal multidistrict litigation panel in charge of asbestos claims had been accused of being dilatory in resolving cases. In its brief, NCLC noted there were no findings of contacts between Washington and the facts of this case, and defended the federal MDL panel as having done a remarkable job resolving the claims of people actually injured by asbestos exposure.