Olivo v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., 186 N.J. 394

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey considered whether a landowner owed a duty of care to a worker's spouse who allegedly developed mesothelioma from asbestos carried home on the worker's clothing. The court held that harm to the spouse was foreseeable and that imposing a derivative duty on the landowner was fair, but remanded for determination of factual issues concerning the landowner's duty to the worker and the hazard-incident-to-the-work exception.

Holdings

1. When a landowner owes a duty to workers on its premises regarding the foreseeable risk of exposure to friable asbestos and asbestos dust, it also owes a derivative duty to spouses handling the workers' unprotected clothing when exposure to asbestos borne home on that clothing is foreseeable and imposing the duty is fair and just.
2. The hazard-incident-to-the-work exception can eliminate a landowner's duty to an independent contractor's employee for a known hazard that is part of or incidental to the work the contractor was hired to perform, but the exception applies only when the landowner does not retain control over the means and methods of the work.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a landowner owes a duty of care to a worker's spouse who was exposed off the premises to asbestos carried home on the worker's contaminated clothing.
2. Whether the landowner's duty to the worker was barred by the hazard-incident-to-the-work exception applicable to employees of independent contractors.
3. Whether summary judgment was proper when factual disputes remained concerning the nature of the worker's assignment, the asbestos hazard, the landowner's control, and the warnings or protections provided.

Disposition

remanded