Fourth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Based On North Carolina Independent Contractor Exception

The Fourth Circuit recently held that a premises owner in an asbestos case was not liable to a pipefitter based on insufficient evidence of exposure and the independent contractor exception to landowner liability.

The Case

In Smith v. Schlage Lock Co., LLC, 986 F.3d 482 (4th Cir. 2021), the Smiths sued Schlage Lock on the theory that Mr. Smith developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos while working as a pipefitter during the construction of a Schlage Lock plant in Rocky Mount, NC in 1972. Mr. Smith testified that every day during several months, insulators cut and applied insulation to the lines, however he did not know whether that insulation contained asbestos.