Bill Hardy, Executive Director of the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool (ACIP), has asked all of the counties, including Cochise, to join in an amicus brief in a case that will soon be before the Arizona Supreme Court.  The background is as follows.

In 2013, a worker sued the City of Phoenix alleging he contracted mesothelioma as a result of long-term exposure to asbestos while performing pipe installation and repair for the city.  The worker had been exposed between 1968 and 1993.  The City immediately filed a third-party complaint for indemnity against 82 developers and 8 contractors who were responsible for planning, designing, and constructing the projects.  The City alleged the third-party defendants were solely responsible for selecting, installing, and disposing of any asbestos-laden products used in the projects, and thus that the developers and contractors had to indemnify the City against the worker’s claims.

The Arizona Court of Appeals held that although the statute of limitations had not expired for the worker to sue the City, the statute of limitations had expired for the City to sue the third parties for indemnification.  ACIP believes that this decision is wrong and, since the ruling could apply to counties in other tort cases, has asked a law firm to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn the appellate court ruling and requested that counties join in that brief.  There would be no cost to the County.  The County Attorney recommends joining the amicus brief.