DOVER, Del. – The Delaware Supreme Court is upholding the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the widow of an Argentine national who claimed he was exposed to asbestos at a DuPont textile plant in Argentina.
In a split decision Thursday, the justices said a judge correctly dismissed the lawsuit in 2012 because Delaware was not the proper forum for Argentine asbestos claims to be heard. The majority agreed that DuPont would face undue hardship if forced to litigate complex and unsettled questions of Argentine law in Delaware.
In a sharply worded dissent, Justice Carolyn Berger said that the majority ignored longstanding Delaware law. Berger said the real motivation for the majority’s opinion was a desire to protect Delaware’s corporate franchise.
DuPont Co. is based in Wilmington, Del.
