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  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
  • CHARLES HUSBAND VS. ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS (B*P) AS REFLECTED ON EXHIBITS ASBESTOS document preview
						
                                

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CO MW A HW B&B YN samen 10 SEDGWICK, DETERT, MORAN & ARNOLD LLP MICHAEL L, FOX Bar No. 173355 GEORGE S. SULLIVAN Bar No. 187793 ELECTRONICALLY One Market Plaza Steuart Tower, 8th Floor FILED San Francisco, California 94105 Superior Court of California, Telephone: (415) 781-7900 County of San Francisco Facsimile: (415) 781-2635 APR 07 2009 GORDON PARK-LI, Clerk Attomeys for Defendant BY: VANESSA WU CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY Deputy Clerk SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CHARLES HUSBAND, CASE NO. 275098 Plaintiffs, DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY’S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED v COMPLAINT ASBESTOS DEFENDANTS, Defendants. 27 Sepawck | SES7SS75v1 Defendant CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY (hereafter “defendant”) answers plaintiff's unverified complaint for personal injury (hereafter “complaint’) as follows: 1. Under the provisions of Section 431.30 of the Code of Civil Procedure, defendant denies each and all of the allegations of said complaint and denies that plaintiff sustained damages in the sum or sums alleged or in any other sum or at all. FIRST AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 2. Defendant alleges that said complaint and each cause of action therein fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against this answering defendant. SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 3. Defendant alleges that the causes of action, if any, attempted to be stated and set forth in said complaint are barred by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure of the State of California including, but not limited to, Sections 335.1 and 340.2. -1- DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY’S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINTSO OW RR RH BR YR Ne Ba BN 27 SERGI SEASTSSTSNE THIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 4. Defendant alleges that the causes of action, if any, attempted to be stated and set forth in said complaint are barred by laches. FOURTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 5. Defendant alleges that the causes of action, if any, attempted to be stated and set forth in said complaint are barred in whole or in part by the equitable doctrines of waiver and estoppel. FIFTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 6. Defendant alleges that plaintiff and others were negligent or otherwise at fault in and about the matters referred to in said complaint, and that such negligence or other fault bars or diminishes plaintiff's recovery against this answering defendant. SIXTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 7. Defendant alleges that plaintiff was solely negligent in and about the matters alleged in said complaint and that such negligence on the part of plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of the injuries and damages complained of, if any there were. SEVENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 8. Defendant alleges that plaintiff assumed the risk of the matters referred to in said complaint, that plaintiff knew and appreciated the nature of the risk, and that plaintiff voluntarily accepted the risk, EIGHTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 9, Defendant alleges that plaintiff misused and abused the products referred to in said complaint, and failed to follow instructions, and that such misuse and abuse and failure to follow instructions on the part of plaintiff proximately caused and contributed to the injuries and damages complained of, if any there were. NINTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 10. Defendant alleges that if plaintiff sustained injuries attributable to the use of any product manufactured, supplied, or distributed by this answering defendant, which allegations are expressly denied, the injuries were solely caused by and attributable to the unreasonable, 2 DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY'S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINTi Q7 SERGWICK 55 SEASTSSISVE unforeseeable, and inappropriate purpose and improper use which was made of the product. TENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 11. Defendant alieges that, if there was any negligence proximately causing the injuries or damages complained of, such negligence, if any, was solely that of persons other than this answering defendant. ELEVENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 12. Defendant alleges that there is no privity between plaintiff and this answering defendant. TWELFTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 13. Defendant alleges that it gave no warranties, either express or implied, to plaintiff and that neither plaintiff nor others ever notified defendant of any claims of breach of warranty, if any there were. THIRTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 14, Defendant alleges that said complaint and each cause of action therein are barred with respect to this answering defendant by the provisions of state and federal workers’ compensation statutes including, but not limited to, Sections 3600 et seq. of the Labor Code of the State of California, and Section 905(b), Title 33 of the United States Code, FOURTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 15. Defendant alleges that, if there was any negligence proximately causing the injuries or damages complained of, such negligence, if any, is collateral negligence, as that term is used and defined in Restatement 2d Torts, Section 426, and derivative authority. FIFTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 16. Defendant alleges that at the time of the matters referred to in the complaint, plaintiff was employed by employers other than this answering defendant and was entitled to and received workers’ compensation benefits from his employers; and that, if there was any negligence proximately causing the injuries and damages complained of, such negligence, if any, was that of plaintiff's employers. fii -3. DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY'S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINT25) 26 27 PEDGWIK SFAS79S75v1 SIXTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 17. Defendant alleges that plaintiff's claims, and each of them, in this action are preempted by federal statutes and regulations governing workplace exposure to asbestos. SEVENTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 18. Defendant alleges that said complaint, to the extent that it seeks exemplary or punitive damages pursuant to California Civil Code Section 3294 against this answering defendant, violates defendant's right to procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of California, and therefore fails to state a cause of action upon which either punitive or exemplary damages can be awarded. EIGHTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 19, Defendant alleges that said complaint, to the extent that it seeks exemplary or punitive damages pursuant to Califormia Civil Code Section 3294 against this answering defendant, violates defendant’s right to protection from “excessive fines” as provided in the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 17 of the Constitution of the State of California, and violates defendant’s right to substantive due process as provided in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Constitution of the State of California, and therefore fails to state a cause of action upon which either punitive or exemplary damages can be awarded. NINETEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 20. Defendant alleges that plaintiffs complaint, and each cause of action therein, fail to state facts sufficient to support an award of punitive or exemplary damages against this answering defendant. TWENTIETH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 21. Defendant alleges that the “peculiar risk” doctrine is not applicable to the causes of action attempted to be stated and set forth against this answering defendant, because the injuries and damages complained of in the complaint, if any there were, arose in the course and scope of plaintiff's employment by an independent contractor. 4. DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY’S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINTOo 8 WD A Aw FR wwe RRR eee BR Ww Me =m S © 8 WB A ww BR BW MW =| GS case nN Uh 26 27 PERGWICK SEASTSS7SvE TWENTY-FIRST AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 22, Defendant alleges that the causes of action, if any, attempted to be stated and set forth in said complaint on the theory of alternate entity and/or successor liability fail to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against this answering defendant. TWENTY-SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 23. Defendant alleges that the causes of action, if any, attempted to be stated and set forth in said complaint for negligence per se are barred by California Labor Code Section 6304.5, and derivative authority. TWENTY-THIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 24. Defendant alleges that plaintiff failed to exercise due diligence to mitigate her loss, injury or damages, if any, and, accordingly, the amount of damages to which plaintiff is entitled, if any, should be reduced by the amount of damages which otherwise would have been mitigated. TWENTY-FOURTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 25. Defendant alleges that, at all times relevant to the matters alleged in the complaint, some of plaintiff's employers were sophisticated users of allegedly asbestos-containing products, and said employers’ negligence in exposing their employees to such products in a negligent, careless and reckless manner was a superseding intervening cause of plaintiff's injuries, if any. TWENTY-FIFTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 26. Defendant alleges that plaintiffs’ claims are barred as a matter of law because a manufacturer bears no duty to warn members of a trade or profession about dangers generally known to that trade or profession. Vohnson v. American Standard, Inc. (2008) 43 Cal.4th 56.) TWENTY-SIXTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 27. Defendant alleges that it cannot be held liable for the negligence or misconduct, if any, of independent contractors at defendant’s premises, based on the doctrine of peculiar risk or any other theory of liability, pursuant to Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, Srith v. ACandS, Inc. (1994) 31 Cal.App.4th 77, Toland v, Sunland Housing Group, Inc. (1998) 18 “5. DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANYS ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINToO OO Be DON OR mR Ow OUND 27 SEDGWIK SEISTSS7Sv1 Cal.4th 253, Camargo v, Tjaarda Dairy (2001) 25 Cal. 4th 1235, Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, and Kinsman v. Unocal Corp. (2005) 37 Cal 4th 659. TWENTY-SEVENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 28. Defendant alleges that the premises referred to in said complaint, if owned or controlled by defendant at all, were designed, fabricated, constructed, maintained, and repaired in compliance with United States government specifications and/or under the direction, control and authority of federal officers, and that the hazards associated with the use of asbestos-containing products and materials, if any, were known equally to the government and defendants, and therefore the complaint and all causes of action therein, if any, are barred by the government contractor defense (Boyle v, United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988), and derivative authority), and the Defense Production Act of 1950, 50 U.S.C. Section 2061, et seq., its statutory predecessors, and derivative authority. WHEREFORE, this answering defendant prays that plaintiff take nothing by reason of said complaint; that this answering defendant be awarded costs of suit herein, and such other and further relief as the court deems just; and, that if this answering defendant is found liable, the degree of their responsibility for the resulting damages be determined and that this answering defendant be held liable only for that amount of the total damages proportionate to its responsibility for the same. DATED: April 6, 2009 SEDGWICK, DETERT, MORAN & ARNOLD LLP By: GEORGE 8. SULLIVAN Attorneys for Defendant CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY 6. DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY’S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINTene mea Oo fo MD A & BW oa me et home cmt: 27 SERGINICK SE/IS7S57$v1 | Cal.4th 253, Camargo v. Tjaarda Dairy (2001) 25 Cal 4th 1235, Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, and Kinsman vy, Unocal Corp, (2005) 37 Cal.4th 659. TWENTY-SEVENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 28, Defendant alleges that the premises referred to in said complaint, if owned or controlled by defendant at all, were designed, fabricated, constructed, maintained, and repaired in compliance with United States government specifications and/or under the direction, contro! and authority of federal officers, and that the hazards associated with the use of asbestos-containing products and materials, if any, were known equally to the government and defendants, and therefore the complaint and all causes of action therein, if any, are barred by the government contractor defense (Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. , 487 U.S. 500 (1988), and derivative authority), and the Defense Production Act of 1950, 50 U.S.C. Section 2061, et seq,, its statutory predecessors, and derivative authority. WHEREFORE, this answering defendant prays that plaintiff take nothing by reason of said complaint; that this answering defendant be awarded costs of suit herein, and such other and further relief as the court deems just; and, that if this answering defendant is found liable, the degree of their responsibility for the resulting damages be determined and that this answering defendant be held liable only for that amount of the total damages proportionate to its responsibility for the same. DATED: April 7, 2009 SEDGWICK, DETERT, MORAN & ARNOLD LLP By: GEORGE S. SULLIVAN Attorneys for Defendant CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY -6- DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY'S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINTPROOF OF SERVICE Tam a resident of the State of California, over the age of eighteen years, and not a party to the within action. My business address is Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Amold LLP, One Market Plaza, Steuart Tower, 8th Floor, San Francisco, California 94105. On the date executed below, I electronically served the document(s) via LexisNexis File & Serve described as: DEFENDANT CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY’S ANSWER TO UNVERIFIED COMPLAINT on the recipients designated on the Transaction Receipt located on the LexisNexis File & Serve website. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is true and correct. Executed on April 7, 2009, at San Francisco, California. PROOF OF SERVICE SFFIS8352IVE