Missouri SB 331: Establishes disclosure procedures for a claimant in an action for damages due to asbestos exposure

Bill Text

1535S.04C
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SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 331
AN ACT
To amend chapter 537, RSMo, by adding thereto two new
sections relating to actions for damages due to
exposure to asbestos.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 537, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto
two new sections, to be known as sections 537.880 and 537.882,
to read as follows:
537.880. 1. The provisions of sections 537.880 to
537.882 shall apply to asbestos actions filed on or after
the effective date of such sections and to pending asbestos
actions in which trial has not commenced as of such date.
2. As used in sections 537.880 to 537.882, the
following words and terms shall mean, unless the context
clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Asbestos action", any claim for damages or other
relief presented in a civil action arising out of, based on,
or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos and
any derivative claim made by or on behalf of a person
exposed to asbestos or a representative, spouse, parent,
child, or other relative of that person;
(2) "Claimant", any person bringing an asbestos
action, including a personal representative if the asbestos
action is brought by an estate, or a conservator or next
friend if the asbestos action is brought on behalf of a
minor or legally incapacitated individual. "Claimant"
includes a claimant, counter-claimant, cross-claimant, or
third-party claimant;

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(3) "Exposed person", any person whose exposure to
asbestos or to asbestos-containing products is the basis for
an asbestos action.
537.882. 1. Within thirty days after an asbestos
action is filed or within thirty days of the effective date
of this section for asbestos actions that are pending on the
effective date, the claimant in an asbestos action shall
file a sworn information form specifying the evidence that
provides the basis for each claim against each defendant.
The sworn information form shall include all of the
following with specificity:
(1) The name, address, date of birth, marital status,
occupation, smoking history, current and past worksites, and
current and past employers of the exposed person, and any
other person through whom the exposed person was exposed to
asbestos;
(2) Each asbestos-containing product to which the
exposed person was exposed and each physical location at
which the exposed person was exposed to asbestos, or the
other person was exposed if exposure was through another
person;
(3) The specific location and manner of each exposure,
including for any person through whom the exposed person was
exposed to asbestos;
(4) The beginning and ending dates of each exposure,
the frequency and length of each exposure, and the proximity
of the asbestos-containing product or its use to the exposed
person and any person through whom the exposed person was
exposed to asbestos;
(5) The specific asbestos-related disease claimed to
exist;
(6) A certification that no prior asbestos actions
have been made on the claimant’s behalf or, if the claimant

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has filed prior asbestos actions, information as to the case
name, case number, and court; and
(7) Any supporting documentation relating to the
information required in this subsection.
2. A claimant’s obligation to provide sworn
information pursuant to subsection 1 of this section is in
addition to any court ordered disclosures. Claimants have a
continuing duty to supplement the information that is
required to be disclosed in subsection 1 of this section
within thirty days after the claimant receives additional
information that is required to be disclosed.
3. The court, on motion by a defendant, shall dismiss
a claimant’s asbestos action without prejudice as to any
defendant whose product or premises is not identified in the
required disclosures set forth in subsection 1 of this
section.
4. The court, on motion by a defendant, shall dismiss
a claimant’s asbestos action without prejudice as to all
defendants if the claimant fails to comply with the
requirements of this section.