A ruling finding that a nonmanufacturing seller is not subject to strict liability for its pre-1997 conduct has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Ohio Supreme Court found in October 2007 that applying the policy prior to its 1977 adoption would produce an "inequitable outcome."

The case is just one of many that have recently changed the landscape in Ohio.  In Ackison v. Anchor Packing Co., 120 Ohio St. 3d 228 (2008), the court applied recent asbestos legislation in the state retroactively resulting in the almost immediate dismissal of 31,656.  Some sources said 35,000 of Ohio's estimated 40,000 asbestos cases could be dismissed.

The Second District Ohio Court of Appeals recently applied Ackison to a case before it Neal v. A-Best Products, 2008 Ohio 6968 (2008), saying that while it disagreed with the outcome, it was bound by the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling.

Lastly, the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 declined to review an appeal from the Ohio Supreme Court challeging HB 292's application to FELA and LBIA cases.

The plaintiffs filed their petition for a writ of certiorari on Jan. 21.