CertainTeed Corp. v. Dexter

Opinion of the Court by

Justice NOBLE.

This case involves an asbestos-related products liability and negligence suit against nineteen corporate defendants. Only two defendants proceeded to trial; the others either settled or won summary judgment motions, and thus had become empty-chair defendants when the case went to trial. At the first trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, but apportioned no fault to any of the empty-chair defendants. The trial court then granted a new trial under CR 59.01(f) because the jury’s failure to apportion fault to the empty-chair defendants…