Appeals Court Overturns $8M BNSF Verdict in Libby Asbestos Case
Legislation & Litigation
Written by Travis Rodgers | Edited by Amy Edel
A federal appeals court overturned an $8 million verdict against BNSF Railway, ruling the company can’t be held strictly liable for transporting asbestos-contaminated vermiculite through Libby, Montana. This could shape other pending lawsuits stemming from Libby’s decades-long asbestos contamination.
The decision reverses a 2024 jury verdict that awarded $4 million each to the estates of Thomas Wells and Joyce Walder, two Libby residents who died from mesothelioma. Libby was the site of one of the nation’s most significant asbestos contamination disasters, linked to decades of vermiculite mining and processing.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Feb. 24 that Montana’s common carrier exception shields railroads from strict liability. The ruling applies when federal law imposes a public duty on railroads to transport materials.
“We agree that the district court interpreted the scope of the common carrier exception too narrowly,” wrote Circuit Judge Morgan B. Christen, who authored the opinion.
Hundreds of claims were filed against BNSF after mining company W.R. Grace & Co. entered bankruptcy. This case was the first against the railroad to reach trial.
Why The Court Reversed the Verdict
Federal law obligates railroads to transport certain materials as common carriers, and Montana law exempts them from strict liability when fulfilling that duty. The appeals court found BNSF was transporting asbestos-contaminated vermiculite under that federal obligation, and because the jury had already cleared the railroad of negligence, the court overturned the verdict and entered judgment in favor of BNSF.
“The dangerous condition here—accumulated asbestos dust—arose solely from BNSF’s operation as a common carrier executing its federally mandated duty to transport vermiculite,” Christen wrote in the ruling.
The lawyer representing the estates for Walder and Wells told the Montana Free Press they are considering an appeal. “We respect the Court but disagree with its decision and believe it misapplied Montana law,” Jinnifer Mariman, an attorney with the Kalispell-based McGarvey Law Firm, told MTFP. “We are talking with our clients and evaluating our options for an appeal.”
Libby’s History of Asbestos Health Hazards
For decades, vermiculite mined near Libby, Montana was contaminated with asbestos fibers. The material was processed and shipped nationwide, but dust from mining and transportation spread throughout the community, including the railyard and near the tracks.
The estates of Wells and Walder, who both lived near the BNSF railyard, claimed that this contamination and their subsequent exposure to asbestos were what led to their mesothelioma diagnoses. BNSF denied any knowledge that the vermiculite was contaminated.
“I respect the court’s ruling and the judicial process, but I believe this outcome is unjust for the families of the deceased plaintiffs. Decades of asbestos contamination devastated the community and led to the nation’s first public health emergency declaration in 2009,” Linda Reinstein, co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, told us.
Reinstein noted that the decision adds to the community’s long history of loss. She also said the decision may influence other asbestos cases involving rail carriers.
“This ruling will likely be cited in other cases involving the transport of hazardous materials under a common carrier framework,” she added. “The scientific consensus remains clear that asbestos is a carcinogen linked to serious disease and death.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency in Libby in 2009 and designated the area a Superfund site. Federal cleanup efforts have cost more than $600 million.
Former residents developed asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma, at significant rates. Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of this rare and aggressive cancer.
