Opinion ID: 2341935
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Both Premises Owners Were Entitled to Summary Judgment Based on Lack of Evidence to Support a Duty to Warn Independent Contractors of Hidden Danger of Asbestos.

Text: Although Kentucky law prohibits granting summary judgment where there are valid issues to try, [12] a party opposing a properly supported summary judgment motion cannot defeat it without presenting at least some affirmative evidence showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. [13] Because Brewster failed to offer affirmative evidence establishing a genuine issue of material fact concerning the premises owners' actual knowledge of the presence or danger of asbestos in response to the premises owners' properly supported summary judgment motion, [14] we conclude that the Court of Appeals properly affirmed the trial court's summary judgments granted to Jewish Hospital and Colgate on the issue of duty. We note that we review the propriety of the summary judgments granted here applying the traditional standard of premises-owner duty to independent contractors spelled out in the Clary case. And we do not believe that the advent of comparative negligence since Clary was decided demands a change in the law concerning premises-owner duty. Comparative negligence simply allows for proportional reduction in the award rather than barring recovery when both parties are at fault in some manner. [15] But comparative negligence does not, by itself, change the law as to when one owes another a duty that could lead to liability for breaching that duty. Because Brewster presented no evidence establishing the premises owners' actual knowledge of the presence and dangers of asbestos, we conclude that the premises owners were entitled to judgment in their favor as a matter of law. Brewster points to evidence that Jewish Hospital conceded the presence of asbestos in its buildings. Evidence of the presence of, or even exposure to, a potentially injurious substance or condition, however, is insufficient to overcome a properly supported summary judgment motion showing that no duty was established. Even if we assume solely for the purposes of argument that Brewster was exposed to asbestos while working at Jewish Hospital, [16] his claim would still fail because he did not offer any evidence that Jewish Hospital knew of the presence or danger of asbestos at the time he worked there. Jewish Hospital has admitted to awareness of the presence of asbestos in some of its buildings in the 1980s when it undertook an asbestos abatement study. But this survey occurred long after Brewster worked for an independent contractor to build an addition to Jewish Hospital around 1970. We look at what the premises owner actually knew at the time the independent contractor worked on the premises in determining the duty owed at that time. Similarly, Brewster offers no evidence that Jewish Hospital had actual knowledge of the dangers of asbestos exposure at the time he worked there. And while Brewster attempts to establish Jewish Hospital's constructive knowledge at that time through various periodicals circulated during that time period, our precedent clearly establishes that actualrather than constructiveknowledge of a hidden danger is required to establish a duty for a landowner to warn or take steps to protect an independent contractor and its employees. [17] Given the lack of any evidence that Jewish Hospital had actual knowledge of the presence or dangers of asbestos exposure at the time Brewster worked there, we conclude that the trial court properly granted summary judgment on the issue of duty. Although it is not necessary to reach the issue of the contractor's, Wilhelm's, actual or constructive knowledge of the presence or dangers of asbestos, we also note that no proof regarding Wilhelm's knowledge was offered by Brewster or Jewish Hospital. We also conclude that the Court of Appeals properly affirmed the summary judgment granted in favor of Colgate. Unlike the proof regarding Jewish Hospital, Colgate had actually specified the use of asbestos-containing materials in its building expansions in the 1930s through the 1950s, which would seemingly establish at least an issue of fact regarding Colgate's actual knowledge of the presence of asbestos in its buildings. But Brewster has failed to bring to our attention evidence showing that Colgate had actual knowledge of the danger of asbestos at the time he worked there. While we took note of deposition testimony showing that Colgate's own employees used respirators when dealing with asbestos starting in the late 1970s or early 1980s, we found no proof in this record establishing that such protective measures were taken for Colgate's employees during the same time Brewster worked on the plant, which ended in 1976. Brewster has failed to point to any specific evidence that Colgate was actually aware of the dangers of asbestos exposure at the time he worked there. And no evidence suggesting such awareness has come to our attention during our review of this case. Again, despite Brewster's attempts to argue constructive knowledge through various periodicals in general circulation at the time he worked at Colgate, the premises owner must have actualnot just constructiveknowledge for a duty to warn to arise under Kentucky law. And a Colgate representative testified by deposition to Colgate's relying on its contractors to have knowledge of the various materials present on the site and to take necessary precautions to protect their employees. Brewster offered no proof to show that his employer, Dahlem, did not have such knowledge. Given (1) the lack of evidence that Colgate had actual knowledge of the danger of asbestos exposure during the relevant time period and (2) the lack of evidence that Dahlem did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the danger of asbestos exposure during the relevant time period, we conclude that the trial court properly granted summary judgment on the issue of Colgate's duty. Because Brewster failed to offer evidence that either premises owner had actual knowledge of the dangers of asbestos at the time he worked on their premises, the Court of Appeals properly affirmed the summary judgments rendered in their favor on this ground.