Defendant in Wrongful Death Action Can Mount 'Empty-Chair' Defense

An Ohio appellate court ruled that a defendant in a tort action should not have been prevented from asserting that a worker’s employer bore some liability for a fatal accident. Case: Jester ex rel. Estate of Jester v. Utilimap Corp., No. C-170576, 11/30/2018, published. Facts: Keith Jester worked for Duke Energy Ohio. The company sent Jester to remove a line of four utility poles and replace the above-ground lines with an underground line. The poles were located inside private property, and Duke’s worker had to manually climb the poles to access the lines. A four-person crew rem...