Maureen Gallagher v. National Grid Usa/narragansett Electric; Dennis Gallagher v. National Grid Usa/narragansett…

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Division’s final decrees assigning liability for Mr. Gallagher’s mesothelioma to National Grid rather than USGEN. The Court held that the trial judge’s factual findings were clearly erroneous, that the “same nature and type” requirement demands proof of asbestos exposure likely to cause disease, and that Mr. Gallagher’s testimony about exposure at USGEN was speculative and not probative. The Court also rejected National Grid’s Rule 602 argument as misplaced.