On December 30, 2013, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in favor of defendant BASF Construction Chemicals, LLC in a personal injury lawsuit in which Jim Newman represented the company. The case turned on whether BASF had assumed the duty to inspect certain construction work performed using a BASF product. After a lengthy and thorough analysis, the Supreme Court held that the question of duty was, in this particular case, one for the trial court and that the trial court had correctly ruled in favor of BASF.
Mr. Newman represented BASF in the case from its inception in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, which granted summary judgment to the company. After plaintiff appealed, the Supreme Court transferred the action to the Court of Civil Appeals, which reversed the trial court. BASF then petitioned for certiorari to the Alabama Supreme Court which granted the petition and reversed the Court of Civil Appeals.
Ex parte BASF Construction Chemical, LLC (In re: Jeannie West Crabtree and Edward Wayne Crabtree vs. BASF Building Systems, LLC), Alabama Supreme Court 1101204 (December 30, 2013).