Pullman Standard, Inc. v. Abex Corp.

OPINION

BROCK, Justice.

In this action, plaintiff seeks to recover litigation expenses and attorneys fees incurred in defending suits brought against it by third parties. Those suits arose out of the derailment of a train and subsequent explosion of a gas tankcar in Waverly, Tennessee, in 1978.

Plaintiff, Pullman Standard, Inc. [Pullman], manufactured the superstructure of a railroad car involved in the derailment disaster. Defendant, Abex Corporation [Abex], was manufacturer and designer of a wheel fitted on the car by Pullman. Pullman and Abex were two of many defendants in the lawsuits…