Gerald Lorbiecki worked as a steamfitter for an independent contractor at Pabst's Milwaukee brewery in the mid-1970s, removing and replacing asbestos-insulated pipes. Workers chipped insulation off existing pipes using hammers and chisels, sending asbestos-containing dust into the air. Lorbiecki was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017 and died before trial. His estate continued the litigation.
The court held that the general rule shielding property owners from liability to independent contractors' employees does not apply to claims under the safe-place statute. Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet wrote that the statute supersedes the common-law duty of reasonable care discussed in Tatera v. FMC Corporation, meaning Pabst could not rely on that precedent to avoid liability.
The court found Pabst retained sufficient control over the premises to trigger liability. Pabst's internal memoranda required contractors to notify the company before making welds or cuts "so that necessary precautions were taken," and mandated daily inspections of work areas. That evidence allowed a jury to infer that Pabst "retained the right to dictate whether cuts or welds would take place, where and when they would happen," Justice Dallet wrote.
Pabst had argued it could not be liable because it did not control Lorbiecki's work and because undisturbed asbestos does not create an unsafe condition. The court rejected both arguments. Justice Dallet wrote that the evidence showed Pabst knew "many miles of pipes in its facility contained asbestos" and that steamfitters would have to remove thousands of pounds of insulation using methods that caused dust to fly around.
The jury found Pabst 22% liable and awarded $2.3 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages against the company. The court upheld the punitive award, finding sufficient evidence that Pabst acted with intentional disregard of workers' rights.
The court reversed the court of appeals on the punitive damages cap calculation, holding that the cap must be based only on the $2.3 million recoverable against Pabst as the sole remaining defendant, not the total $5.5 million the jury awarded against all alleged tortfeasors.
Justice Annette Ziegler, joined by Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley, dissented. Justice Ziegler argued summary judgment should have been granted to Pabst and accused the majority of "shortcutting review of the record at summary judgment." She warned the decision "has now effectuated a sea change in summary judgment review and at the same time has imparted a strict liability standard for building owners."