Claims for harm from asbestos in California

California mesothelioma cases are filed in the plaintiff's county superior court — Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Alameda County courts handle the highest volume. There is no single federal MDL for asbestos; most California claims are litigated in state court alongside claims against 60+ asbestos bankruptcy trusts including the Johns Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, the W.R. Grace Asbestos PI Trust, and the Owens Corning/Fibreboard Asbestos PI Trust.

California's statute of limitations for mesothelioma is 1 year from the date of disability or from discovery that the disability was caused by asbestos exposure, whichever is later (CCP § 340.2). Wrongful death claims based on asbestos exposure must be filed within 1 year of the death, or within 1 year of when the family knew or should have known asbestos caused the death, whichever is later (CCP § 340.2(c)). Because mesothelioma has a latency period of 20–50 years, the discovery rule is critical: the clock starts when the patient learns — or reasonably should have learned — the asbestos link.

Los Angeles Superior Court's Complex Civil Litigation program and San Francisco Superior Court have long coordinated asbestos dockets. California's JCCP 4674 (Asbestos Coordination Proceeding) centralizes pre-trial proceedings for cases statewide, streamlining discovery against major defendants such as Honeywell, Union Carbide, and 3M.

California's dominant exposure industries include shipbuilding (Mare Island, Long Beach, San Diego Naval Shipyard), oil refining (Richmond, El Segundo), aerospace manufacturing, and construction trades statewide. The state's extensive military base network — Camp Pendleton, Travis AFB, Naval Base San Diego — produced substantial Navy and Air Force veteran exposure claims.