Vicki Pounders v. Enserch E&C Inc

Justice BRUTINEL,

opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 We consider whether a wrongful death claim based on exposure to asbestos in New Mexico, which resulted in mesothelioma diagnosed thirty years later in Arizona, is subject to the substantive law of New Mexico or Arizona. Because New Mexico has the more significant relationship to this claim, that state’s law applies.

I

¶ 2 Dudley Pounders, a New Mexico resident, worked as a welder for Arizona Public Service (“APS”) at the Four Corners Power Plant in New Mexico from approximately 1969 to 1974 and again from 1979 to 1983. While performing repair and…