Opinion ID: 454827
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: How it all Began

Text: 2 Stanley Rosenberg, Barbara Rosenberg's deceased husband, was employed from 1961 to 1965 at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn. While an employee at the shipyard, he was exposed to many asbestos products. Mr. Rosenberg was diagnosed as having asbestosis in November of 1976, and as having malignant mesothelioma in April of 1978. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg brought suit in New York state court in April of 1978 against the Celotex Corporation (Celotex) alleging that Mr. Rosenberg had contracted malignant mesothelioma from exposure to and use of Celotex's asbestos products. The Rosenbergs sought recovery in strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. The New York state court, however, dismissed the Rosenbergs' complaint, finding that the statutes of limitations barred all grounds for recovery. 4 The district court's decision was affirmed by the New York Court of Appeals, in The Matter of Steinhardt v. Johns-Manville, 54 N.Y.2d 1008, 446 N.Y.S.2d 244, 430 N.E.2d 1297 (1981), cert. denied sub nom. Rosenberg v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 456 U.S. 967, 102 S.Ct. 2226, 72 L.Ed.2d 840 (1982). 3 Stanley Rosenberg died on June 3, 1980. On December 4, 1981, Barbara Rosenberg, as executrix of her husband's estate, filed a wrongful death suit in federal district court in New York. The federal court dismissed her claim, 5 holding that New York law requires that at the time of death the decedent have a valid claim against the defendant. By definition a time barred claim is not a valid claim. 4 On June 2, 1982, one day short of the second anniversary of her husband's death, Mrs. Rosenberg filed a wrongful death suit in federal district court in Texas. The district court granted Celotex's motion for summary judgment based on the prior New York decisions. The court stated that full faith and credit required it to respect the previous New York determinations. On appeal Mrs. Rosenberg asserts that the district court misapplied both the Constitution's full faith and credit clause and the laws of Texas. However, after reviewing the New York and Texas wrongful death acts, and the many cases brought under them, we conclude that the district court correctly dismissed Mrs. Rosenberg's claim.