Simpkins v. CSX Transp. (Illinois)

The plaintiff, whose husband had worked for the defendant until 1965, alleged that she contracted lung cancer as a result of being exposed to asbestos fibers purportedly carried home on her husband’s work clothes. CSX Transportation, Inc. retained us after the state’s intermediate appellate court held that the CSX had a duty to protect the plaintiff against second-hand exposure to asbestos fibers. After persuading the Illinois Supreme Court to grant discretionary review, we convinced the court that the plaintiff’s complaint failed to state a claim under Illinois law because it failed to adequately allege that an injury from second-hand asbestos exposure was foreseeable at the relevant time.