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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A08-1105

Court of Appeals

Page, J. Concurring, Magnuson, C.J., and Gildea, J.

In re Paul W. Abbott Company, Inc., Appellant, In re: Minnesota Asbestos Litigation. ________________________ Richard J. Leighton, Johnson, Killen & Seiler, P.A., Duluth, Minnesota, for appellant. Michael S. Polk, Michael R. Strom, Chad C. Alexander, Shauna M. Verheyen, Sieben Polk, P.A., Hastings, Minnesota, for respondents. Diane B. Bratvold, Max Heerman, Kevin M. Decker, Daniel J. Supalla, Briggs and Morgan, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for amicus curiae Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association. ________________________ Filed: June 18, 2009 Office of Appellate Courts

SYLLABUS The court of appeals did not err when it declined to issue a writ of prohibition. Affirmed. OPINION PAGE, Justice. This appeal comes before us in the context of ongoing asbestos litigation. The appellant, Paul W. Abbott Company, Inc. (PWA), a corporation that was involuntarily

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dissolved under Minnesota law in 1997, is a defendant in the asbestos litigation. The respondents in this appeal are the plaintiffs in that litigation. One of the insurance companies defending PWAs interests in the asbestos litigation is TIG Insurance Company (TIG). At issue is whether respondents may depose an attorney who, as part of PWAs defense strategy in the asbestos litigation, assisted PWA in obtaining a certificate of voluntary dissolution from the Minnesota Secretary of State. The Ramsey County District Court denied PWAs motion for a protective order, and PWA petitioned the court of appeals for a writ of prohibition and for discretionary review. The court of appeals denied both petitions. We granted PWAs petition seeking further review of the denial of the writ of prohibition. PWA claims that allowing the deposition of the attorney compels the revelation of privileged and/or confidential communications. We affirm. PWA was incorporated on April 28, 1954, as an insulation company. On

November 19, 1993, John Abbott, the President and CEO of PWA, filed a notice of intent to dissolve PWA but never completed the dissolution process. Although the record is unclear, it appears that PWA ceased doing business in 1993, and since then has been insolvent. Having failed to file the annual registration required by Minn. Stat.

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