Betty Bradberry and Inez T. Jones v. Carrier Corporation

Summary

The court affirmed summary judgments for the solvent defendants in the asbestos-related wrongful-death action. It held that the bankruptcy filing of one defendant automatically stayed proceedings only against that debtor, did not require formal severance before proceedings could continue against solvent codefendants, and did not impermissibly split the single wrongful-death cause of action. The court also concluded that neither res judicata nor collateral estoppel would bar later litigation against the bankrupt defendant because the parties and defendant-specific exposure issues were different.