SHARON WEATHERLY v. EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY - Articles

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SHARON WEATHERLY v. EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Aug 7, 2023

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Gregory F. Coleman, Louis W. Ringger, III, William A. Ladnier, Virginia Whitener, and Luke Widener, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sharon Weatherly.

Attorneys 2: Jimmie C. Miller and Joseph B. Harvey, Kingsport, Tennessee, and Robert F. Parsley, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Eastman Chemical Company.

Judge(s): MCCLARTY

The plaintiff brought an action seeking damages for diminution of real property value, alleging that the defendant’s steam pipe exploded, causing toxic debris, including asbestos, to fall on the plaintiff’s real property. The plaintiff’s claims included strict liability for ultra-hazardous activity, ordinary negligence, negligence per se, public nuisance, trespass, continuing private nuisance, and medical monitoring. The trial court dismissed the entire amended complaint without prejudice pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) after finding that the plaintiff failed to comply with the Tennessee Asbestos Claims Priorities Act. The trial court also dismissed the claims for strict liability, negligence per se, trespass, and medical monitoring with prejudice. Upon review, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the entire complaint without prejudice, as well as the dismissal of the plaintiff’s negligence per se, trespass, and medical monitoring claims with prejudice. We reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the strict liability claim with prejudice.

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