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Murphy v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp.6/26/2000
Appeal From Greenville County John C. Hayes, III, Circuit Court Judge
Heard November 4, 1999
AFFIRMED
This case involves the application of South Carolina's Door Closing Statute. Janet Murphy, a Virginia resident, alleged she developed mesothelioma as a result of "household or familial" exposure to asbestos fiber on the clothing of her father, Dr. Charles Baker. Her father worked for E. I. Du Pont de Nemours at several locations. He spent three years at the Du Pont plant in Camden, South Carolina during the 1960's. The trial court granted the respondents' Rule 12(b)(1), SCRCP, motions to dismiss based upon the Door Closing Statute. Murphy and her husband appeal. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Janet Baker Murphy was born in Virginia in 1960. She lived with her parents, the Bakers, until 1978 when she entered college. After attending college, she returned to Virginia where she has resided since 1982. In July of 1995, Murphy was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Janet Murphy's father, Dr. Charles Baker, is a chemical engineer who was employed by E. I. Du Pont de Nemours from 1951 until his retirement in 1984. He worked at the Du Pont facility in Waynesboro, Virginia from 1951 until 1966. From 1966 until 1969, Dr. Baker was employed at the Du Pont plant in Camden, South Carolina. He returned to the Waynesboro facility in mid-1969 and remained there until 1974. Dr. Baker spent the years from 1974 until the summer of 1978 at a Du Pont facility in the Netherlands. He returned to the Waynesboro plant in 1978 where he remained until his retirement in 1984.
According to Dr. Baker, his work over the years at various Du Pont facilities caused him to be exposed to asbestos dust and fibers. Dr. Baker testified by deposition that one of his major projects at the Camden plant was the development of a larger, higher capacity spinning cell for spinning Orlon acrylic fiber. The equipment involved in the spinning process was continually reconfigured. Dr. Baker stated he was exposed to insulation material while observing the removal and re-installation of the equipment. He was also exposed to asbestos in other areas of the Camden plant where various equipment changes were taking place. He stated there was always evidence of some dust in the area and he specifically recalled times when his clothes were dusty.
After his daughter was diagnosed with mesothelioma, Dr. Baker came to believe he had exposed his daughter to asbestos through his clothing. He held her as an infant and maintained a close relationship with her as she grew. Janet Murphy testified in her deposition that as a child she was "daddy's little girl." She would crawl into his lap and they would read stories or watch television on a daily basis. When her father came home from work, she would go through his coat pockets looking for mints.
In their motions to dismiss, the respondents asserted the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the Murphys' complaint based upon application of the Door Closing Statute. After the receipt of memoranda of law and a hearing, the circuit court granted the motions.
The court stated that since the Murphys were not residents of South Carolina, jurisdiction rested on where the cause of action arose. The court held that a cause of action "arises, accrues, and springs into action only when all of the elements exist and one has a right to seek relief (i.e. a cause of action) based on such elements. Mere threat of future injury is too speculative to support present adjudication." The trial court concluded Janet Murphy's cause of action did not arise until she was diagnosed with mesothelioma in Virginia in 1995. At
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