Court rules in favor of former tire plant workers

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has affirmed a state Court of Appeals ruling finding that the relatives of employees who had died while working at a Eau Claire tire plant could file wrongful-death and survival claims.

Tuesday’s decision stems from a 2006 tort suit filed by former employees of the Uni-Royal Goodrich tire plant in Eau Claire, as well as their estates and beneficiaries. The suit was filed against Exxon Mobil Corp. and other defendants, including the Ashland Chemical Co. Division of Ashland Inc.

According to the suit, the former employees’ injuries and deaths were caused by exposure to benzene at the plant. Benzene is a chemical compound found in coal and petroleum products. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, those exposed to the benzene developed leukemia and later died.

Exxon contended that the claims had not been filed before the deadline set by Wisconsin’s statute of limitations. The plaintiffs, in contrast, argued that their claims could not accrue until they had found reason to believe that the defendants were responsible for the injuries brought up in the lawsuit. They contended that a state discovery rule lets survival claims and wrongful-death claims accrue after someone’s death if the discovery of the claim is reasonable.

The Eau Claire County Circuit Court held that the plaintiff’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations because the claims had been submitted too late — after the employees had died.

The Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court’s decision. The appellate judges found that the state’s statute of limitations, because of the discovery rule, starts running when the plaintiff discovers, or at least should discover, an injury caused by a defendant.

The defendants appealed, and the justices sided with the Court of Appeals on Tuesday in a 5-2 vote. Justice Annette Ziegler and Chief Justice Pat Roggensack dissented.

According to the decision, which was written by Justice David Prosser, the state’s discovery rule does permit survival and wrongful-death claims to be made following a death. Even so, plaintiffs must show that their claims accrued within three years or less of when they were filed.

The court remanded the case to the circuit court to determine whether the plaintiffs had fulfilled that requirement. Follow @erikastrebel