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PRESENT: Kinser, C.J., Lemons, Millette, Mims, McClanahan, and Powell, JJ., and Koontz, S.J. EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION v. Record No. 111775 OPINION BY JUSTICE LEROY F. MILLETTE, JR. JANUARY 10, 2013

CONNIE MINTON, EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF RUBERT E. MINTON

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS Timothy S. Fisher, Judge This appeal arises out of a jury verdict against Exxon Mobil Corporation (Exxon) based on injuries that Rubert E. Minton suffered as a result of developing mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos while working on Exxon ships during his employment at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company (Shipyard). On appeal, Exxon assigns error to: (1) the circuit court's finding that the evidence was sufficient to show that Exxon either actively controlled Minton's work or that Exxon failed to intervene to protect him in the face of actual knowledge that the Shipyard was ignoring an obvious risk to his safety; (2) the circuit court's finding that the evidence was sufficient to show that Minton's mesothelioma was proximately caused by Exxon's breach of a maritime law duty; (3) the circuit court's exclusion of all evidence that the Shipyard knew of the relevant hazard and had asbestos controls in place;

and (4) the award of punitive damages. herein, we reverse and remand.

For the reasons stated

I. Facts and Proceedings Minton was employed at the Shipyard from 1956 until 1993, except for two years spent in the Army Reserves. From 1956 to

1960, Minton worked as an apprentice shipfitter in the construction of new ships. When he returned from the Reserves

in 1962, he worked as a shipfitter and became a supervisor of other shipfitters. During this time period Minton worked on

the construction of new vessels and never worked aboard any Exxon vessels. He was regularly exposed to asbestos from

asbestos-containing materials as well as from asbestos dust from a dusty worksite and does not claim that Exxon is liable for this asbestos exposure. In 1966, Minton was promoted to ship repair staff supervisor and was responsible for supervising and coordinating the repair of vessels. As the position did not involve hands-

on participation in the vessels' repair work, Minton did not personally handle asbestos products. Nonetheless, Minton spent

approximately half of his day walking through vessels on which repairs were being made with each vessel's repair supervisor or port engineer, to start new jobs and to inspect the repair work that was being done or that was recently completed. During

these inspections, Minton and the ship's port engineer viewed

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various rooms in which asbestos was used, including the boiler and engine rooms. Between 1966 and 1977, Exxon frequently brought their vessels to the Shipyard's facilities for repair. Over Minton's

eleven years as repair supervisor, Exxon owned seventeen of the approximately two hundred vessels repaired by the Shipyard. In 2009, sixteen years after the conclusion of his employment with the Shipyard, Minton was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Minton filed suit against Exxon under the federal

Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), 33 U.S.C.

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