Asbestos Removal

Jane's parents got work at Nix-Asbestos, an asbestos removal firm. The company made Jane's parents wear protective clothing at every job site. For their first year at Nix-Asbestos, her parents helped to remove asbestos insulation at an old private school, which was being converted into high-priced condominiums. Jane helped her parents around the house, including doing the clothes washing. She never went to visit her parents while they worked on the asbestos removal from the old private school. Within a few months after the completion of that job, Jane contracted mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer that arises primarily from exposure to asbestos. Her parents brought suit against the owners of the old private school, on a theory of premises liability.

Questions

• What do the parents need to show in order to establish the liability of the owners of the old private school?
• What arguments will the owners of the old private school raise against the suit?
• How will the court likely rule on such requests?
• Why would the court rule as it would on those arguments?