7 Guam Code Ann. § 11402
Terms Used In 7 Guam Code Ann. § 11402
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
(1) Within two (2) years after the date the plaintiff first suffered disability and either before or after suffering the disability the plaintiff was informed by a licensed physician, clearly and comprehensively, to the degree that the plaintiff is capable of understanding, that he was diagnosed as having any one or more of the following several and distinct injuries, pleural disease, or pulmonary asbestosis, or malignant mesothelioma, or other carcinoma or other specific asbestos- related injury, causing the disability; or
(2) Within two (2) years after the date the plaintiff either knew, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known,
(A) that such disability was caused or contributed to by such exposure and
(B) that the disability or injury was caused by a violation of a duty towards the plaintiff; or
(3) Two (2) years from the effective date of this Act.
(b) Disability as used in Subsection (a) of this Section means the loss of time from work as a result of exposure to asbestos, which precludes the performance of the employee’s regular occupation.
(c) In an action for the wrongful death of any plaintiff’s decedent, based upon exposure to asbestos, the time for commencement of an action shall be the later of the following:
(1) Within two (2) years from the date of death of the plaintiff’s decedent, or the date of enactment of this Act, whichever is later; or
(2) Within two (2) years from the date the plaintiff first knew, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that the death was caused or contributed to by such exposure.
(d) The provisions of this Section shall apply retroactively to all unfiled claims and to all pending litigation in the courts of Guam, or which are on appeal. Pending litigation as used in this
Subsection shall include any action that has been filed in the courts of Guam.
(e) The burden of proving that this Section is a bar to any cause of action for illness, injury, property damage or wrongful death is upon the party asserting this section as a defense.
(f) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as waiving the sovereign immunity of the government of Guam.
(g) This Section shall not change the statute of limitations for any claim against the government of Guam.
SOURCE: Added by P.L. 18-44:46 (11/14/86).
2016 NOTE: Subitem designations were altered in subsection (a)(2) to adhere to the Compiler’s codification and alpha-numeric schemes pursuant to authority granted by 1 Guam Code Ann. § 1606.