Asbestos Litigation in British Columbia: Canada’s First “Mass Toxic Tort”

Author: Neo Tuytel

Revised: 2006
Published: 1990

Over the past 25 years the American courts have been inundated by a tidal wave of personal injury litigation arising out of exposure to asbestos. By the middle of the past decade a second and potentially larger wave of property damage asbestos litigation had begun to break. At issue are literally billions of dollars in potential damage awards and insurance claims. The first Canadian asbestos cases are on their way to trial, and many more are certain to follow.

The purpose of this paper is to survey the prospects for asbestos and other "toxic tort" litigation in Canada. The authors will offer a perspective from British Columbia, the jurisdiction in which they practice, and where the first Canadian asbestos cases are being tried. This paper will first relate a brief history of asbestos and asbestos ligation in the United States. Topics covered will include asbestos and its uses, the emergence of asbestos as a toxic substance and an overview of the two waves of asbestos litigation. The next section will consider the scope of the asbestos problem. The largest section of the article will consist of an analysis of the American asbestos litigation experience: the two waves of personal injury and property damage or "abatement" cases. Topics covered will include the plaintiff's case, the defences, third-party claims and damages, as well as procedural matters. The analysis of the abatement cases will focus on the recovery of economic loss. The next section will focus on the progress of asbestos litigation in Canada and the growing body of case law in British Columbia, in light of the American experience. This paper will conclude with a consideration of the implications of the asbestos experience for other "mass" toxic tort litigation.

> Download Paper
(PDF Format, 88 pgs.)