Martin v. Goodrich Corp.

Summary

The court answered three certified questions concerning the interaction between sections 1(f) and 1.1 of the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act. It held that section 1(f) is a period of repose covered by section 1.1, that section 1.1 is a substantive amendment applying prospectively under the Statute on Statutes, and that applying it to permit a civil action based on an illness discovered after the amendment does not violate due process. The court reasoned that the exclusivity defense did not vest before the plaintiff’s cause of action accrued.