Kansas City v. Keene Corp.

855 S.W.2d 360, 1993 Mo. LEXIS 63, 1993 WL 173465
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 25, 1993
Docket75332
StatusPublished
Cited by99 cases

This text of 855 S.W.2d 360 (Kansas City v. Keene Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kansas City v. Keene Corp., 855 S.W.2d 360, 1993 Mo. LEXIS 63, 1993 WL 173465 (Mo. 1993).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

This is the second appeal1 from a suit filed by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, against Keene Corporation and others. The city claims damages arising out of a fireproofing spray containing asbestos that was used in the construction of the Kansas City International Airport (KCI). A verdict for actual and punitive damages was returned against Keene. The trial court entered judgment for the city on the award of actual damages but entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of Keene on the punitive damages award. The compensatory damage award was reduced by the amount paid to Kansas City in a settlement of a similar claim against the Johns-Manville Corporation bankruptcy fund. Kansas City and Keene cross-appealed. Following opinion by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, this Court granted transfer. Rule 83.03. The judgment is affirmed.

KCI terminal buildings A, B and C were constructed between 1969 and 1972. The structures have two levels. The upper level is for passenger services. The lower level, referred to as the apron level, is used for airline maintenance and baggage handling. The ceiling of the apron level is made of corrugated metal with poured concrete above it, which serves as the floor of the passenger level. Beneath this ceiling are steel beams for support. Keene or its subsidiary manufactured and sold a substance called Pyrospray, an asbestos-containing fireproof material, which was applied to the ceiling and the beams of the apron level. Following a determination in 1985 that all asbestos-containing material should be removed, this action was commenced. When the case was tried, only two defendants remained, Keene and another party. Keene was the sole defendant against whom a verdict was returned.

I.

Keene’s first claim on appeal is that the trial court erred in failing to direct a verdict in its favor because the undisputed evidence shows the statute of limitations had expired on plaintiff’s claims based on strict liability, fraud and breach of warranty when this action was filed on August 12, 1986. These precise issues were addressed in the earlier appeal in this ease.

In Grace the trial court had entered summary judgment in favor of Keene and other defendants based on the statutes of limitation. The court of appeals reviewed the record and determined that there were genuine issues of fact as to when the statutes [366]*366of limitation on the claims for strict liability, fraud and breach of warranty had begun to run. The summary judgment was reversed and the cause remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.

In reviewing a trial court’s denial of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the evidence is examined in a light most favorable to the party against whom the judgment is sought. Burnett v. Griffith, 769 S.W.2d 780, 783 (Mo. banc 1989). In reviewing a ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the record is viewed in a light most favorable to the party against whom the judgment is rendered. ITT Commercial Finance Corp. v. Mid-America Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371 (Mo. banc 1993); Zafft v. Eli Lilley & Co., 676 S.W.2d 241, 244 (Mo. banc 1984). Thus, the standard for reviewing the evidence regarding the statutes of limitation issue is essentially the same here as it was in Grace. Unless there is a change in the issues or the evidence, the court of appeals’ previous holding constitutes the law of the case and concludes any issues decided on remand and subsequent appeal. Gambel v. Hoffman, 732 S.W.2d 890, 895 (Mo. banc 1987). Obviously, the issues here and the issues in Grace regarding the running of the statutes of limitation are precisely the same. The only question is whether there has been a change in the evidence.

The court of appeals in Grace had before it essentially the same evidence that was presented to the trial court below on the statutes of limitation issues. In 1972, following an inspection by representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), contractors ceased using the asbestos-containing Pyrospray. Regulations known as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) were promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency on April 6, 1973. In 1976, the “McCrone” report confirmed that asbestos had been used in the fireproofing in terminals B and C. A 1977 report by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) indicated that air samples showed that asbestos was below the minimum detectable level inside the terminals. Potential exposure to employees did not pose an immediate hazard. The report cautioned that asbestos should be replaced “where technically feasible.”

In addition, both the summary judgment court and the jury had before them the testimony of the manager of the Environmental Hazard Section of the Kansas City Public Health Department that he believed asbestos-containing products posed a serious health problem for building occupants, and he advocated the removal of all asbestos from the buildings. The record also reflects that air samplings began in the mid-1970’s at the instance of OSHA after airline employees made complaints.

The record before the jury and before the summary judgment court reflects that it was not until 1983, however, that OSHA unequivocally reported “that there was no level of exposure to asbestos below which clinical effects did not occur.” From 1975 through 1990, various interested parties conducted air sampling at KCI. Not until 1990 did any sampling disclose asbestos fibers in excess of that found in ambient air. It was not until 1985, as a result of a report by Hygienetics, Inc., that a recommendation was made that asbestos materials be removed and replaced to eliminate concern about asbestos fiber fallout rates.

After reviewing essentially the same record that is before the Court here, the court of appeals in Grace concluded that there were “genuine issues of material fact as to when asbestos fibers were released into the environment of Kansas City’s airport buildings and when Kansas City was capable of ascertaining a substantial and unreasonable risk of harm from the release.” 778 S.W.2d at 271. The court noted that a cause of action for strict liability and fraud accrues “when the damage resulting therefrom is sustained and is capable of ascertainment.” § 516.100.2 Therefore, the summary judgment was reversed on those claims.

With regard to the breach of express warranty claim, the representation by [367]*367Keene Corporation that Pyrospray was resistant to air erosion, assuring the safety of the application, was determined to be a promise of future performance in Grace. A cause of action for breach of warranty for future performance accrues when the breach is or should have been discovered. § 400.2-725(2). Thus, there was a genuine issue of fact as to whether the representation of the safety of the asbestos product was capable of ascertainment prior to 1981. 778 S.W.2d at 272.

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Bluebook (online)
855 S.W.2d 360, 1993 Mo. LEXIS 63, 1993 WL 173465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kansas-city-v-keene-corp-mo-1993.