North Dakota Code 32-46.2-02 – Sworn information form requirement for asbestos action
1. In addition to any requirements for asbestos actions under chapter 32-46.1, a plaintiff in an asbestos action shall file, within forty-five days after any complaint is filed in an asbestos action, a sworn information form signed by the plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel specifying the evidence that provides the basis for each claim against each defendant. The sworn information form must include the following with specificity:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 32-46.2-02
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
a. The name, address, date of birth, marital status, occupation, smoking history, current and past worksites, and current and past employers of the exposed individual, and any person through whom the exposed person was exposed to asbestos; b. Each individual through whom the exposed individual was exposed to asbestos and the exposed individual’s relationship to each individual; c. Each asbestos-containing product to which the individual was exposed and each physical location at which the exposed individual was exposed, or if the plaintiff was exposed through another individual, to which that other individual was exposed; d. The specific location and manner of each exposure, including for any individual through whom the exposed individual was exposed to asbestos; e. The beginning and ending dates of each exposure, the frequency and length of each exposure, and the proximity of the asbestos-containing product or its use to the exposed person and any person through whom the exposed person was exposed to asbestos; f. The identity of the manufacturer or seller of the specific asbestos product for each exposure; g. The specific asbestos-related disease claimed to exist; and
h. Any supporting documentation relating to the information required under this section.
2. The plaintiff has a continuing duty to supplement the information required to be disclosed in subsection 1.
3. The court shall dismiss the asbestos action without prejudice as to any defendant whose product or premises is not identified in the required disclosures in subsection 1.
4. The court shall dismiss the asbestos action without prejudice as to all defendants if the plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel fail to comply with this section.