Palmer v. 999 Quebec, Inc.

• Decision Date: 14 January 2016
• Docket Number: No. 20150031.,20150031.
• Citation: 874 N.W.2d 303
• Parties: Deborah J. PALMER, surviving spouse of Gary J. Palmer, deceased, Plaintiff and Appellant v. 999 QUEBEC, INC. (f/k/a International Boiler Works Company ), a Delaware corporation; A.H. Bennett Company, a Minnesota corporation; A.L. Crump and Company, Inc., an Illinois corporation; A.O. Smith Corporation, a Delaware corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company, a Massachusetts corporation; A.W. Kuettel & Sons, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Advocate Asbestos Mines, Ltd., a Canadian Corporation, Airco, Inc., a Delaware corporation; American Biltrite, Inc., American Standard, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Anchor Packing Company, a Delaware corporation; Apollo Piping & Supply, an Illinois corporation; Asbestos Corporation, Ltd., a Canadian corporation; Atlas Turner, Inc., a Canadian corporation; Australian Blue Asbestos, Pty., an Australian corporation; Bayer Cropscience, Inc., (successor to Rhone–Poulence, Inc., f/k/a Amchem Products, Inc., f/k/a Benjamin Foster Company, a New York Corporation); Beazer East, Inc., f/k/a Koppers Industries, Inc.; Beazer East, individually and as successor in the interest to THEIM and as successor in interest to Universal Refractories ; Bell & Gossett a foreign corporation; Bell Asbestos Mines, Ltd., a Canadian corporation; Bondex International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bondex Company, an Ohio corporation; Border States Industries, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Bryan Steam Corporation, an Indiana corporation; Building Sprinkler's Company, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Burnham Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation; CBS Corporation (f/k/a Westinghouse Electric Corporation), a Pennsylvania corporation; Calaveras Asbestos Mines, individually and as a successor-in-interest to California Asbestos Company, a California corporation; California Asbestos Company, a California corporation; Carborundum Abrasives, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Carlisle Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Carol Cable Corporation, a division of AVNET, Inc., a foreign corporation; CertainTeed Corporation, a Maryland corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation; Chicago Wilcox Manufacturing Company, an Illinois corporation; Chromalox (a division of Emerson Electric Co.), a Missouri corporation; Cleaver Brooks, Division of Aqua–Chem, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Columbia Bailer Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; Crane Company, a Delaware corporation; Crane Johnson Company, a North Dakota corporation; Crane Packing Company, a foreign corporation; Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest) to Mundet Cork Corporation; CSR, Ltd. (a/k/a Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Ltd. ), an Australian corporation, individually and as an alter-ego of Australian Blue Asbestos, Pty.; Dakota Welding Supply, a North Dakota corporation; Dana Corporation, a Virginia corporation; Deltak, L.L.C., a Unit of Jason, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Detroit Stoker, a Michigan corporation; Domco Products Texas, L.P., f/k/a Azrock Industries, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Dossert Corp., a New York corporation; Draxton Sales, a Minnesota corporation; Durabla Manufacturing Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; E.J. Lavino and Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Eaton Corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest to Samuel Moore & Company ); an Ohio corporation; Egbert Corporation, individually and as success-in-interest to S.K. Wellman Corporation, an Ohio corporation; Electric Supply Corp., an Illinois corporation; Elliott Turbomachinery Company, Inc.; Emerson Electric Co., a Missouri corporation; Ericsson, Inc., (f/k/a Cable Corp.) a Delaware corporation (as successor-in-interest to Anaconda Wire & Cable Company ); Excelsior, Inc., an Illinois corporation; Essex Group, Inc., Michigan corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest to Essex International, Inc.); F.R.P. Products, Ltd., a foreign corporation; F & C Supply, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Fargo–Moorhead Insulation Company, a North Dakota corporation; Firebrick Supply Co., a Minnesota corporation; Fisher Controls International, LLC, f/k/a Fisher Govenor Co., an Iowa corporation; Foseco, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Foster Products Corporation, a Minnesota corporation (as successor-in-interest to Foster Products Division of H.B. Fuller Company and to the Benjamin Foster Division of AmChem Products, Inc.); Foster Wheeler Corporation, a New York corporation; Frommelt Safety Products, a Wisconsin corporation; Fuel Economy Engineering Co., a Minnesota corporation; Gardner Denver Machinery, Inc., (individually and as successor-in-interest to Joy Technologies, Inc. f/k/a Joy Manufacturing Company) a Delaware corporation; General Electric Company, a foreign business corporation organized under the laws of New York; General Engineering Development Corporation, f/k/a Fuel Economy Engineering Company, a South Dakota corporation; General Refractories Company; George T. Walker & Co., Inc., a foreign corporation; Georgia–Pacific Corp., a Georgia corporation; Goodrich Corporation, f/k/a B.F. Goodrich Company, a New York corporation; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, an Ohio corporation; Goulds Pumps; Graybar Electric, a New York corporation; Greene, Tweed & Co., a Pennsylvania corporation; Grinnell Corporation, a Minnesota corporation; H.B. Fuller, Co., a Minnesota corporation; H.E. Everson Company, a North Dakota corporation; H.H. Robertson Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; Hedman Mines, Ltd., a Canadian corporation; Hennig Packing & Gasket Corporation, an Illinois corporation; Henry Vogt Machine Company, a Kentucky corporation; Hercules Chemical Company, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Hickory Insulation Co., a foreign corporation; Hobart Brothers Co., an Ohio corporation; Honeywell, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Houston Specialty Wire & Cable Co., a Delaware corporation; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Contractors, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation, f/k/a The Carborundum Company, a Delaware corporation; Ingersoll–Rand Company, a New Jersey corporation; Illinois Insulation Contracting Company, Inc., (f/k/a Illinois Roofing & Insulation Company), an Illinois corporation; Inductotherm Industries, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Insulation Services, Inc., a Louisiana corporation; International Vermiculite Co., an Illinois corporation; ITT Corporation; J.H. France Refractories Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; The Jamar Company, a Minnesota corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest and liability to the Walker–Jamar Company, a former Minnesota corporation); Jaquays Mining Company, an Arizona corporation; Jerguson Gage & Valve, a foreign corporation; John Crane, Inc., a Delaware corporation (successor-in-interest to John Crane–Houdaille, Inc. and Crane Packing Company); Johnston Boiler Co., a Michigan corporation; J.M. Asbestos Sales, Inc.; J–M Manufacturing Company, Inc.; Kaiser Gypsum Company, a Washington corporation; Kelly–Moore Paint Company, a California corporation; Kelsey–Hayes Group (a division of Varity Corporation), a Delaware corporation; Kewanee Boiler Corporation (n/k/a OakFabCo, Inc.), an Illinois corporation; Lac d' Amiante du Quebec, Ltee. (f/k/a/Lake Asbestos of Quebec), a Canadian corporation; Lamons Metal Gasket Company, a Delaware corp.; Lincoln Electric Co., an Ohio corporation; Lipe–Rollway Corporation, a New York corporation; Lochinvar, a Tennessee corporation; Mandan Electric Supply, a foreign corporation; Marmon Corporation, a Delaware corporation; McMaster Carr Supply Company, an Illinois corporation; McNeil Refractories, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation; Mellema Company, a Minnesota corporation; Metate Asbestos Mines, an Arizona corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a foreign corporation; Mine Safety Appliance Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, a Delaware corporation; Natkin Group, Inc., as successor to Fuel Economy Engineering Company, a Delaware corporation; Northern Plumbing & Heating, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Northern Plumbing Supply, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; OakFabCo, Inc. f/k/a Kewanee Boiler Corporation an Illinois corporation; The Okonite Company, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Owens–Illinois, Inc., an Ohio corporation; Parker Boiler Co., a California corporation; Paul A. Douden, a Colorado corporation; Paul W. Abbott Company, Inc., a foreign corporation; Pfizer, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Phelps Dodge Industries, a New York corporation; Pipe, Valve & Fittings, Co., a Colorado corporation; Power Process Equipment, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Praxair Distribution, Inc., a foreign corporation; Quin–T Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Rapid–American Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Research Cottrell, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Rhone–Poulenc, Inc., a New York corporation (as successor-in-interest to Benjamin Foster, a division of AmChem Products Company); Riley Power, Inc., f/k/a Riley Stoker Corporation, a Massachusetts corporation; Robinson Insulation, a Montana corporation; Rockbestos–Surprenant Cable Corp. (f/k/a The Rockbestos Company) a Delaware corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary Marmon Corporation); Rockwell International Corporation, a Nevada corporation; Rome Cable Corp., a Delaware corporation, (a subsidiary of Rome Group, Inc.); Roughrider Supply, a foreign corporation; RPM, Inc., an Ohio corporation; Ryall Electric Supply, Inc., a Colorado corporation; S.O.S. Products Company, Inc., a New York corporation; Saint–Gobain Abrasives, Inc. f/k/a Norton Company individually and as successor by merger with Carborundum Abrasives Company, a Massachusetts corporation; SEPCO Corporation, an Alabama corporation; Singer Safety Company, an Illinois corporation; Smith–Sharpe Company, a Minnesota corporation; Sprinkman Sons Corporation, an Illinois corporation; Sternmerich Supply Co., a Missouri corporation; Superior Boiler Works, Inc., a Kansas corporation; Sussman Electric Boilers, a New York corporation; Square D, a brand of Schneider Electric; 3M; Thermo Electric Co., a New Jersey corporation; The Trane Co., a New York corporation, (a division of American Standard, Inc.); U.S. Filter Co., a foreign corporation; Union Boiler Co., a Delaware corporation; Union Carbide Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Uniroyal, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; United Conveyor Corporation, an Illinois corporation; Victor H. Leeby Company, a North Dakota corporation; Walker Jamar Company, A Minnesota corporation; Warren Pumps, LLC f/k/a Warren Pumps, Inc.; Weil McLain Company, a Delaware corporation; Western Steel & Plumbing, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Whittier Filtration, Inc. f/k/a U.S. Filter/Whitter, Inc., a subsidiary of Water Applications & Systems Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Yarway Corporation; Zurn Industries, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, Defendants. A.W. Kuettel & Sons, Inc., a Minnesota corporation, Appellee.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

874 N.W.2d 303

Deborah J. PALMER, surviving spouse of Gary J. Palmer, deceased, Plaintiff and Appellant

v. 999 QUEBEC, INC. (f/k/a International Boiler Works Company ), a Delaware corporation; A.H. Bennett Company, a Minnesota corporation; A.L. Crump and Company, Inc., an Illinois corporation; A.O. Smith Corporation, a Delaware corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company, a Massachusetts corporation; A.W. Kuettel & Sons, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Advocate Asbestos Mines, Ltd., a Canadian Corporation, Airco, Inc., a Delaware corporation; American Biltrite, Inc., American Standard, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Anchor Packing Company, a Delaware corporation; Apollo Piping & Supply, an Illinois corporation; Asbestos Corporation, Ltd., a Canadian corporation; Atlas Turner, Inc., a Canadian corporation; Australian Blue Asbestos, Pty., an Australian corporation; Bayer Cropscience, Inc., (successor to Rhone–Poulence, Inc., f/k/a Amchem Products, Inc., f/k/a Benjamin Foster Company, a New York Corporation); Beazer East, Inc., f/k/a Koppers Industries, Inc.; Beazer East, individually and as successor in the interest to THEIM and as successor in interest to Universal Refractories ; Bell & Gossett a foreign corporation; Bell Asbestos Mines, Ltd., a Canadian corporation; Bondex International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bondex Company, an Ohio corporation; Border States Industries, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Bryan Steam Corporation, an Indiana corporation; Building Sprinkler's Company, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Burnham Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation; CBS Corporation (f/k/a Westinghouse Electric Corporation), a Pennsylvania corporation; Calaveras Asbestos Mines, individually and as a successor-in-interest to California Asbestos Company, a California corporation; California Asbestos Company, a California corporation; Carborundum Abrasives, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Carlisle Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Carol Cable Corporation, a division of AVNET, Inc., a foreign corporation; CertainTeed Corporation, a Maryland corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation; Chicago Wilcox Manufacturing Company, an Illinois corporation; Chromalox (a division of Emerson Electric Co.), a Missouri corporation; Cleaver Brooks, Division of Aqua–Chem, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Columbia Bailer Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; Crane Company, a Delaware corporation; Crane Johnson Company, a North Dakota corporation; Crane Packing Company, a foreign corporation; Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest) to Mundet Cork Corporation; CSR, Ltd. (a/k/a Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Ltd. ), an Australian corporation, individually and as an alter-ego of Australian Blue Asbestos, Pty.; Dakota Welding Supply, a North Dakota corporation; Dana Corporation, a Virginia corporation; Deltak, L.L.C., a Unit of Jason, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Detroit Stoker, a Michigan corporation; Domco Products Texas, L.P., f/k/a Azrock Industries, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Dossert Corp., a New York corporation; Draxton Sales, a Minnesota corporation; Durabla Manufacturing Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; E.J. Lavino and Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Eaton Corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest to Samuel Moore & Company ); an Ohio corporation; Egbert Corporation, individually and as success-in-interest to S.K. Wellman Corporation, an Ohio corporation; Electric Supply Corp., an Illinois corporation; Elliott Turbomachinery Company, Inc.; Emerson Electric Co., a Missouri corporation; Ericsson, Inc., (f/k/a Cable Corp.) a Delaware corporation (as successor-in-interest to Anaconda Wire & Cable Company ); Excelsior, Inc., an Illinois corporation; Essex Group, Inc., Michigan corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest to Essex International, Inc.); F.R.P. Products, Ltd., a foreign corporation; F & C Supply, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Fargo–Moorhead Insulation Company, a North Dakota corporation; Firebrick Supply Co., a Minnesota corporation; Fisher Controls International, LLC, f/k/a Fisher Govenor Co., an Iowa corporation; Foseco, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Foster Products Corporation, a Minnesota corporation (as successor-in-interest to Foster Products Division of H.B. Fuller Company and to the Benjamin Foster Division of AmChem Products, Inc.); Foster Wheeler Corporation, a New York corporation; Frommelt Safety Products, a Wisconsin corporation; Fuel Economy Engineering Co., a Minnesota corporation; Gardner Denver Machinery, Inc., (individually and as successor-in-interest to Joy Technologies, Inc. f/k/a Joy Manufacturing Company) a Delaware corporation; General Electric Company, a foreign business corporation organized under the laws of New York; General Engineering Development Corporation, f/k/a Fuel Economy Engineering Company, a South Dakota corporation; General Refractories Company; George T. Walker & Co., Inc., a foreign corporation; Georgia–Pacific Corp., a Georgia corporation; Goodrich Corporation, f/k/a B.F. Goodrich Company, a New York corporation; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, an Ohio corporation; Goulds Pumps; Graybar Electric, a New York corporation; Greene, Tweed & Co., a Pennsylvania corporation; Grinnell Corporation, a Minnesota corporation; H.B. Fuller, Co., a Minnesota corporation; H.E. Everson Company, a North Dakota corporation; H.H. Robertson Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; Hedman Mines, Ltd., a Canadian corporation; Hennig Packing & Gasket Corporation, an Illinois corporation; Henry Vogt Machine Company, a Kentucky corporation; Hercules Chemical Company, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Hickory Insulation Co., a foreign corporation; Hobart Brothers Co., an Ohio corporation; Honeywell, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Houston Specialty Wire & Cable Co., a Delaware corporation; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Contractors, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation, f/k/a The Carborundum Company, a Delaware corporation; Ingersoll–Rand Company, a New Jersey corporation; Illinois Insulation Contracting Company, Inc., (f/k/a Illinois Roofing & Insulation Company), an Illinois corporation; Inductotherm Industries, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Insulation Services, Inc., a Louisiana corporation; International Vermiculite Co., an Illinois corporation; ITT Corporation; J.H. France Refractories Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; The Jamar Company, a Minnesota corporation (individually and as successor-in-interest and liability to the Walker–Jamar Company, a former Minnesota corporation); Jaquays Mining Company, an Arizona corporation; Jerguson Gage & Valve, a foreign corporation; John Crane, Inc., a Delaware corporation (successor-in-interest to John Crane–Houdaille, Inc. and Crane Packing Company); Johnston Boiler Co., a Michigan corporation; J.M. Asbestos Sales, Inc.; J–M Manufacturing Company, Inc.; Kaiser Gypsum Company, a Washington corporation; Kelly–Moore Paint Company, a California corporation; Kelsey–Hayes Group (a division of Varity Corporation), a Delaware corporation; Kewanee Boiler Corporation (n/k/a OakFabCo, Inc.), an Illinois corporation; Lac d' Amiante du Quebec, Ltee. (f/k/a/Lake Asbestos of Quebec), a Canadian corporation; Lamons Metal Gasket Company, a Delaware corp.; Lincoln Electric Co., an Ohio corporation; Lipe–Rollway Corporation, a New York corporation; Lochinvar, a Tennessee corporation; Mandan Electric Supply, a foreign corporation; Marmon Corporation, a Delaware corporation; McMaster Carr Supply Company, an Illinois corporation; McNeil Refractories, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation; Mellema Company, a Minnesota corporation; Metate Asbestos Mines, an Arizona corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a foreign corporation; Mine Safety Appliance Company, a Pennsylvania corporation; Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, a Delaware corporation; Natkin Group, Inc., as successor to Fuel Economy Engineering Company, a Delaware corporation; Northern Plumbing & Heating, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; Northern Plumbing Supply, Inc., a North Dakota corporation; OakFabCo, Inc. f/k/a Kewanee Boiler Corporation an Illinois corporation; The Okonite Company, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Owens–Illinois, Inc., an Ohio corporation; Parker Boiler Co., a California corporation; Paul A. Douden, a Colorado corporation; Paul W. Abbott Company, Inc., a foreign corporation; Pfizer, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Phelps Dodge Industries, a New York corporation; Pipe, Valve & Fittings, Co., a Colorado corporation; Power Process Equipment, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Praxair Distribution, Inc., a foreign corporation; Quin–T Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Rapid–American Corporation, a Delaware corporation; Research Cottrell, Inc., a New Jersey corporation; Rhone–Poulenc, Inc., a New York corporation (as successor-in-interest to Benjamin Foster, a division of AmChem Products Company); Riley Power, Inc., f/k/a Riley Stoker Corporation, a Massachusetts corporation; Robinson Insulation, a Montana corporation; Rockbestos–Surprenant Cable Corp. (f/k/a The Rockbestos Company) a Delaware corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary Marmon Corporation); Rockwell International Corporation, a Nevada corporation; Rome Cable Corp., a Delaware corporation, (a subsidiary of Rome Group, Inc.); Roughrider Supply, a foreign corporation; RPM, Inc., an Ohio corporation; Ryall Electric Supply, Inc., a Colorado corporation; S.O.S. Products Company, Inc., a New York corporation; Saint–Gobain Abrasives, Inc. f/k/a Norton Company individually and as successor by merger with Carborundum Abrasives Company, a Massachusetts corporation; SEPCO Corporation, an Alabama corporation; Singer Safety Company, an Illinois corporation; Smith–Sharpe Company, a Minnesota corporation; Sprinkman Sons Corporation, an Illinois corporation; Sternmerich Supply Co., a Missouri corporation; ...