The Tennessee Supreme Court recently heard arguments from both sides in a take-home asbestos case involving mesothelioma victim Amanda Satterfield, the daughter of an ALCOA employee.

In 2003 Amanda, then 23, filed suit against ALCOA Inc. and Breeding Insulation Co. seeking $10 million in compensatory and $10 million in punitive damages, alleging that since infancy she had been exposed to deadly asbestos dust and fibers brought home each night on her father's clothing, as a result of his handling of asbestos products on the job at ALCOA Tennessee Operations. Doug Satterfield began working for ALCOA as an asbestos hauler in 1973, and unknowingly exposed his home and family to the cancer-causing material.

On January 1, 2005 Amanda lost her battle with mesothelioma. Her father, Doug Satterfield, representing her estate, has continued the suit on her behalf, although he has stated that the case is not about the money, but about justice.

At the hearing each side had thirty minutes to present its case and answer questions from the five justices, who will determine whether the case should go to trial. Satterfield's attorney argued that ALCOA has a responsibility for third parties who are exposed to harmful agents from the company's facilities-that public policy should extend at least to the worker's home and family members. The real question, he contends, is what ALCOA knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. In response, ALCOA's attorney argued that the company's legal responsibility is limited to actual employees, not their families, and that to extend that legal duty would open the floodgates to mesothelioma litigation in Tennessee, creating "an infinite universe of potential plaintiffs".

The case is on appeal from the Tennessee Court of Appeals which reversed the lower court's decision to dismiss the case. The Court of Appeals reinstated the lawsuit and charged ALCOA with the cost of appeal in April 2007. The Tennesssee Supreme Court is expected to issue its written opinion by early April 2008.