Ford USA can’t be held liable for the exposure of a mechanic to asbestos-containing brakes while working in Ireland, New York’s highest court ruled May 3 (Finerty v. Abex Corp., 2016 BL 139866, N.Y., 2015-00162, 5/3/16).
The plaintiffs failed to pierce the corporate veil, the court said, reversing a summary judgment ruling.
“Ford USA, as the parent corporation of Ford UK, may not be held derivatively liable to plaintiff under a theory of strict products liability unless Ford USA disregarded the separate identity of Ford UK and involved itself directly in that entity’s affairs such that the ...