West Virginia Record

 

CHARLESTON – A Huntington couple are suing 61 companies they claim are responsible for a asbestos diagnosis.

Robert Leon Null was diagnosed with asbestosis on Feb. 7, 2011, according to a complaint filed Feb. 6 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Null and his wife, Geraldine Null, claim the 61 defendants caused his asbestosis.

The plaintiffs claim Robert Null was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his employment as an insulator and machinist from 1959 until this year.

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit.

The Nulls claim Robert Null never smoked.

Certain defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Robert Null’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the suit.

The Nulls are seeking a jury trial to resolve all issues involved. They are being represented by Victoria Antion Nelson, Scott A. McGee and John D. Hurst of Motley Rice.

The case has been assigned to a visiting judge.

The 61 defendants named in the suit are 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; American Electric Power Company Inc.; American Electric Power Service Corporation; Appalachian Power Company; Ashland Inc.; Beazer East Inc.; Borg-Warner Corporation; Brand Insulations Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Cleaver-Brooks Inc.; Cooper Industries Inc.; Copes-Vulcan Inc.; Crane Co.; Crown Cork & Seal USA Inc.; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Electrical Inc.; Flowserve Corporation; FMC Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company Inc.; Genuine Parts Company; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Goulds Pumps Inc.; Grinnell LLC; Hercules Inc.; Honeywell International; IMO Industries Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mack Trucks Inc.; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Nitro Industrial Coverings Inc.; Ohio Valley Electric Corporation; Ohio Valley Insulating Company Inc.; Owens-Illinois Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power Inc.; Rockwell Automation Inc.; Rust Constructors Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction Inc.; Sargent & Lundy, LLC; Schneider Electric; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA) LLC; Tasco Insulations Inc.; UB West Virginia Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal Inc.; United Conveyer Corporation; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Viacom Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps Inc.; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries Inc.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 13-C-243